Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 1976)
I THE GAZETTE-TIMES, Heppner. OR, TWdy, Dee. 23, 1976. Tmi " I V7 yr :f A-w ; nU "'"V-1 Vv W&'iH'K - 1 , v ' " S " i . V - - i Laurie walks away from RIO with smile and parents following. "Slow down," the photographer called to luiuru- McCalw as hc walked down the ramp outside the Hehalxlitation Institute of Oregon (lUOl. lune winked as she picked up her pace Her parents, Mr. and Mrs Ernest Mc('alx smiled. Iiurie McCain, slow down? Not now, it (eels too xd to move auai". Severely injuri'd in a car accident last summer, Uiune entered Cood Samaritan's rehabilitation institute in a wheelchair. I was told." she said, " that I was a qu.idraparetic that both arms and lejis were paralyzed. I learned to move my left ankle and left thumb first. Then my ripht ankle "Would I be abb- to move attain. I mean really move No one could tell me " I-aurie smiled, then continued "I'm very lucky. Although I fractured three vertebrae in my neck, damage to my spinal cord was not complete " Iturie was fortunate Hut retraining her muscles to move took more than luck It look IhriH- months of hard work and determina tion It took two hours a day in physical therapy. "Initially." her therapist. Mary Edwards says, 1 I-iune had difficulty siltint" up. Her "up" tolerance was poor because of postural hypotension (low blood pressure). We worked to improve this tolerance, and gradually the length of time she was able to be 'up' increased." Then. Miss Edwards says, we began strengthening exercises, a mat work pro gram, and gait training. "AH gains were slow, but steady. The more Ijiurie was able to move, the more de termined she was to move in new ways." In learning to walk Laurie used parallel bars, then a wide based quad cane. She also used a narrow based quad cane and a straight cane In-fore she was able to move on her own. When she left RIO. she could walk a quarter to a half mile without tiring. She still experiences some weakness, Miss Edwards says, and needs to increase her endurance. So at home Laurie is learning to II took two to three hours a day in Occupational Therapy, which aims to make patients independent in daily living activities. These activities, therapist Nancy Wirtz says, include self -rare, coordination, manual dexterity and homcmaking. "At first. Laurie was dependent in all such activities." Mrs. Wirtz says. "Her arms and hands were very weak. Through exercise we worked to strengthen the muscles in her arms, hands and fingers, and by the time she left, she was totally independent. "Changing dominance." the therapist says, "was one of the biggest problems. Although Laurie is right-handed, her strongest hand is now her left. She's still learning to use her left, hand for such things as writing, eating and grooming." Laurie spent her last four days at RIO in the Homemaking Unit. "Many patients live in the small apartment," Mrs. Wirtz says, "before they leave. It's a testing ground to make sure that they can live independently, and that they are safe." "I couldn't go home on weekends," Laurie explains. "Heppner, Ore., was just too far. So each weekend Pam and Jim picked me up. Their support was so important. "Actually this whole experience has probably been important. You never ap preciate anything until ou've lost it." Laurie jumped in the front seat of the car. In four hours, ihe'd be home. She looked at the photographer, smiled and "slowly" shut the car door. m 77 - i " . f '. " ' ' 11 ... ' ' j p 'J Merry Christmas Slow down, Laurie McCobe .... f tmSTjf.- to V ft vt 7 Learning to walk again with aid of therapist and quad cane. Story & photos appeared in the 'good Samaritan' magazine 1 K k 1 r - Via? J 1 "Z-t Testing herself In the homemaking unit. Walking, using stronger left arm, and parallel bars.
