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Volume 4, Issue 3
May/June 2004 INSIDE THIS ISSUE |
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 Letter from the Prez |
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 W&F Charitable Donation Check Presentations |
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 Children's Art Contest Winners |
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 Grand Opening |
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 Let's Turn Customer Service Inside-Out |
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Wright & Filippis Going to the Dogs?
There probably isn't much that Steve Hoover and Ken Woodard haven't encountered in their combined experience of over 30 years in prosthetics and orthotics. But one of their recent patients was a first for them - they were presented with the challenge of creating prosthetic paws for a 6 year old dog named Footsie.
Steve, a prosthetist at Wright & Filippis' Ann Arbor facility was approached by Brad Pearsall, a physical therapist at Rainbow Rehabilitation Center, where Footsie works as a certified therapy dog. Footsie was born without paws on his hind legs, and Brad thought Steve could take a look at the dog and make some prosthetic paws.
"When Brad called me and said, 'There is a therapy dog seeing patients and has these limbs off. Would you come take a look?' I was really surprised, and didn't quite know what to say," said Hoover. "But as soon as you meet the dog - he's such a great dog - you knew you had to do something."
That's when Steve asked Ken Woodard, an orthotist at Wright & Filippis' Ann Arbor facility, for help on the project, since neither of them has ever done anything like this before. Steve and Ken spent nearly a year working on making the prosthetics, which they did in their spare time. "It wasn't easy," said Ken. "I don't know how many times we spent talking and trying to figure out how we were going to do this."
After several attempts at making a prosthesis that would allow Footsie the proper range of motion, the gentlemen enlisted the help of Footsie's veterinarian Dr. Maves. Dr. Maves sedated Footsie so that Ken and Steve could get a good impression of his hind legs.
The prosthetics were made using a process called vacuum-forming, shaping a layer of foam and a layer of plastic over the mold. Then a hard, black shell with tread material on the bottom was added. The shell is fastened to the dog with a Velcro strap.
"It took a long time. There was a lot of trial and error, but I think we finally got it right," said Steve. Footsie's owner, Helen DePinto said that when Footsie tried them on, it was a "home run."
The project has gained national attention for Steve and Ken - the story appeared on newscasts and in newspapers from New York to California. The gentlemen were also interviewed on CNN and the CBS Early Show.
There probably isn't much that Steve Hoover and Ken Woodard haven't encountered in their combined experience of over 30 years in prosthetics and orthotics. But one of their recent patients was a first for them - they were presented with the challenge of creating prosthetic paws for a 6 year old dog named Footsie.
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Footsie with his new prosthetic paws
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"When Brad called me and said, 'There is a therapy dog seeing patients and has these limbs off. Would you come take a look?' I was really surprised, and didn't quite know what to say," said Hoover. "But as soon as you meet the dog - he's such a great dog - you knew you had to do something."
That's when Steve asked Ken Woodard, an orthotist at Wright & Filippis' Ann Arbor facility, for help on the project, since neither of them has ever done anything like this before. Steve and Ken spent nearly a year working on making the prosthetics, which they did in their spare time. "It wasn't easy," said Ken. "I don't know how many times we spent talking and trying to figure out how we were going to do this."
After several attempts at making a prosthesis that would allow Footsie the proper range of motion, the gentlemen enlisted the help of Footsie's veterinarian Dr. Maves. Dr. Maves sedated Footsie so that Ken and Steve could get a good impression of his hind legs.
The prosthetics were made using a process called vacuum-forming, shaping a layer of foam and a layer of plastic over the mold. Then a hard, black shell with tread material on the bottom was added. The shell is fastened to the dog with a Velcro strap.
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Helen DePinto (Footsie's owner), Steve Hoover, and Ken Woodard waiting to go on air with The Early Show
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The project has gained national attention for Steve and Ken - the story appeared on newscasts and in newspapers from New York to California. The gentlemen were also interviewed on CNN and the CBS Early Show.