polis doctors help CMT Romanian teen walk again

[Guest guest]

polis doctors help Romanian teen walk again

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/06_10-21/CAN

By Wendi Winters, For The Capital

Sixteen-year-old Andrei Tipa's struggle to do things normal kids do

began when he was about 10 years old. He had trouble running: his

left foot began to weaken and muscles in his leg atrophied. He would

fall unless he walked carefully.

The child from Romania who loves watching wrestling matches, was

losing his ability to use his own body. It was being wrested away

from him, bit-by-bit by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder.

Through the Helping Hands Foundation, two polis physicians

recently performed surgery on Andrei's foot and ankle to help him

walk.

Meanwhile, members of the community are helping Andrei and his family

as he recovers. He is set to return to Romania in a few weeks.

By the time Andrei was 14, he needed a cane just to walk. Even that

became impossible because the tendons in his foot did not develop as

he grew, deforming his foot and ankle.

Last year he gave up trying to walk on his increasingly useless foot.

He began to scoot around on his backside or - if it was a short

distance and the floor was smooth - he'd walk on his knees to get

what he wanted.

His mom began schooling him at home, away from the unkind eyes and

insensitive comments of classmates and strangers.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder, known as CMT, is not a life-threatening

disease, but it slowly robs its victims of the ability to fully

participate in life. CMT is an inherited neurological disease for

which there is no cure. Drs. Jean- Charcot, Pierre Marie and

Henry Tooth discovered the condition in 1886.

CMT, one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, affects

an estimated 2.6 million people worldwide - or 37 in 100,000. Its

impact is felt among all races and ethnicities.

It's a disease of the nerves that control extremity muscles.

Characteristics are the loss of muscle tissue and touch sensation. It

primarily affects the feet and legs as the nerves in the lower

extremities degenerate. As affected nerves lose their ability to

stimulate the muscle, the muscles, too, deteriorate. In advanced

stages, hands and arms are affected.

Surgery when necessary, as well as physical activity and physical and

occupational therapies, can reduce the severity of the progressive

disease.

In the United States there are specialists in every large city who

can handle foot and ankle deformities like Adrei's. But Andrei's home

is in Suceava, in northeastern Romania.

" Romania doesn't have the technology to do the surgery my son

needed, " said his mother Clara, 41, with the help of a volunteer

translator, of St. Margaret's. " All they could do

would be to lengthen his tendon. "

Dr. Holt, a foot and ankle specialist, and partner in the

Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center in polis, heard of Andrei's

plight from his partner, Dr. Tom Harries.

" The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Romania alerted Dr. Harries

when he was on a charity trip, doing surgeries in Romania. Someone

asked if we could help. Harries brought me the pictures of Andrei's

condition, so we took a chance on flying him over here to examine him

and develop a plan to help him. "

Dr. Harries and Dr. Jeff Gelfand are partners in the Helping Hands

Foundation, which they formed to accomplish international

humanitarian missions. During the past few years, these doctors have

brought several children with deformed hands from Romania and Bolivia

to the United States, where the doctors perform humanitarian surgery

and therapy not available in their home countries.

Andrei's surgery was performed at Anne Arundel Medical Center in

early April by Dr. Holt, with Dr. Harries' assistance.

When Andrei returns to Romania in a few weeks, Dr. Holt expects him

to continue his physical rehabilitation in his hometown.

" He's a very brave boy, " said the doctor. " This is a big operation.

The recovery is painful. He's never complained. I did the same

operation on a boy from Mexico a few years ago and he was not a

complainer either. He was so grateful. These kids are brave and

willing to endure so much in order to be able to stand again and

walk. "

" So many people in the medical community, AAMC, polis Evangelical

Presbyterian Church and the greater community were willing to give

him help. He and his mother have been wonderful patients and guests, "

said the doctor.

Clara and Andrei are in the United States. Andrei's father, Sorim

Tipa, is an economist and accountant, and remained in Romania.

The two Tipas are staying as guests of Cheryl Kinser, a member of the

polis Evangelical Presbyterian Church, in her home near Broadneck

High School. Another local resident, Dick Skinner, chauffeurs the

Tipas to appointments with doctors and therapists. Still more church

members provided funds to cover the Tipas' travel expenses, they

cooked meals and performed other acts of kindness.

" There was no way the doctors in Romania could have performed this

surgery. We'd reached a dead end. The fact that this happened shows

that there's always hope - and that God will find a way, " said Mrs.

Tipa.

Dr. Holt noted the doctors involved in Helping Hands enjoy helping

kids around the world enjoy life again.

" It's one of those things that lifts everyone up, " he said.

For information on the Helping Hands Foundation, visit

www.helpinghandsfoundation.us

[Guest guest]

" Last year he gave up trying to walk on his increasingly useless foot.

He began to scoot around on his backside or - if it was a short

distance and the floor was smooth - he'd walk on his knees to get

what he wanted. "

Hey that's me - I walk on my knees around my home when I can't or

don't use my wheelchair scooter - need some movement out of the

wheelchair - knee infections are a pain though - ain't CMT great!

Oh well 10 years or less until treatment (my opinion)

Take care