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Featured News
Technology lends a helping hand in Yazoo City resident's stroke recovery
The medical device used to help 57-year-old Annie Johnson recover from a debilitating stroke blurs the lines between science and science fiction.
“When they were telling me about the Bioness, I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to be bionic,’” she said. “I thought it was space-age stuff.”
That’s the Bioness H200 Hand Rehabilitation System—a breakthrough medical device that has helped many patients just like her regain their independence.
It’s just one of the cutting-edge rehab technologies that was available to her during her stay at Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson.  |
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One year after serious ladder fall, MSU professor is back in classroom, inspiring other brain injury survivors to persevere
When David Lang decided to patch his roof during halftime of the 2011 Gator Bowl, Mississippi State was well on its way to trouncing the University of Michigan 52 to 14.
It was an unforgettable game, alright, but the MSU scientist can’t remember a single play. Memories of that New Year’s Day – and the 10 days after – were wiped away by a brain-rattling fall that he also can’t recall.
“I still have no memory of getting the ladder,” said the associate professor for the MSU Department of Plant and Soil Science. “I’d like to use it as a teachable moment … but I can’t reproduce what I did wrong.”
Lang now thinks of himself as “a good poster child” for ladder safety. But he also has become a symbol of hope through Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s Now I Can campaign. The Jackson hospital shares Lang’s amazing recovery from a severe brain injury on its website (www.methodistonline.org/nowican/) and in the latest edition of its magazine, Ways & Means.
“Professor Lang has returned to the classroom and his research and that’s an inspiring story to the newly injured,” said Mark Adams, chief executive officer of Methodist Rehab. “His experience also helps us remind people to be cautious while using ladders. We see a number of ladder-related injuries each year, and they can be quite debilitating.”
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Winona bus crash victim pushes hard in therapy, sets example for other Methodist Rehab patients
As he left Methodist Rehabilitation Center on Jan. 11, Stevelyn Robinson of Winona had one plan in his playbook – to catch up with his friends at Montgomery High School’s next basketball game.
It would be different, of course, sitting courtside in a wheelchair rather than playing point guard for the Hornets. But “Pooda,” as his friends and family call him, isn’t one to dwell on life’s disappointments.
In the days since a Dec. 2 school bus crash sent his future careening in a new direction, the three-sport athlete has grown to appreciate the little things. Like brushing his own teeth. Holding a cup in his hands. Even rolling over in bed.
All were impossible in the first days after surgeons mended a fracture of his C-5 vertebra and delivered a bleak prognosis. Stevelyn was thought to have a “complete” spinal cord injury, meaning there was little chance for recovered ability below the injury site. The 17-year-old would likely be paralyzed from the chest down.
But his parents found reason for renewed hope after their son was transferred to Methodist Rehab in Jackson on Dec. 14. Stevelyn began using his arms and showing movement in his legs, and his injury was reclassified as incomplete.
It’s welcome news for a community that rallied around Stevie and Sheila Robinson as soon as they heard that both the couple’s children were among the seven students seriously injured in the crash. “It was packed in the waiting area of the hospital,” Stevie said. “Just about the whole community was there.”
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Pain management strategies can benefit all ages, take it from 91-year-old Elizabeth McIlwain
Debilitating back pain was threatening Elizabeth McIlwain's active lifestyle -- until the 91-year-old learned that the condition didn't have to be a consequence of aging.
After Methodist Pain Management physician Bruce Hirshman eased her facet joint pain with an injection of anesthetic and anti-inflammatory medications, McIlwain began physical therapy to improve her strength, endurance and agility.
Now she feels “so much better,” she is back to baking tray after tray of her signature tea cakes.
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Gulfport woman a fit for unique role in The Help movie
Louise Hayes had a trailer full of assistants to help her dress as she transformed into a 1960s-era maid for her brief role in the new movie “The Help.”
All the attention was nice, but not necessary.
“I had to let them know I can do some things myself,” said Hayes, 72, who lost her right arm in a car accident four years ago and has since adapted well to the use of a prosthetic limb.
“I needed help with some of the buttons, but other than that, I could put everything on myself,” she said. “Still, it was really nice to have people there to cater to me.”
Hayes’ role involved wearing a gray pinstripe uniform and serving coffee to characters seated in a living room.
The movie, set to premiere July 30 in Madison, is based on the bestselling book by Jackson native Kathryn Stockett. It explores the relationships between African-American domestic workers and the white families who employed them during the segregation era in Mississippi.
Hayes’ role serves to illustrate the imperious attitude of the character Missus Walters — a woman so difficult to work for she “can’t keep a maid” and must settle for one who’s missing an arm.
Producers were able to find the right fit for the role by contacting Methodist Orthotics & Prosthetics in Flowood, a division of Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. It’s where Hayes was fitted for her first prosthesis after her accident.
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