Reel TV

Outpatient client Carroll P. thought his fishing days were over after he sustained a spinal cord injury in 2008, but all that changed with some help from the "Fishing Doc." The Fishing Doc is a cool new adaptive fishing pole that Carroll recently tried out at a charity fishing tournament put on by bass pro Kevin Vandam and the Detroit Lions. Michigan Out of Doors TV, which airs on WTVS-TV, was at the event and filmed Carroll using the fishing pole which he maneuvered through the joy stick on his power chair. The event brought out some of the world’s greatest bass pros to fish alongside Lions players and sponsors at Kensington Metropark on June 12^th.

Carroll was invited to the event by sponsor Harbor Light Health, a local home healthcare company that also provides adaptive sporting gear like the Fishing Doc to help people with disabilities enjoy the great outdoors. The Fishing Doc was such a hit with Carroll that the company is providing some for clients to try out at the fishing ponds on the NeuroCare Campus. You can watch the Michigan Out of Doors episode which aired July 19^th by visiting www.michiganoutofdoorstv.com

Carroll tries out the "Fishing Doc" at the Kevin Vandam/Detroit Lions Charity Fishing Tournament

Back row (left to right): Mike Ball, Vice President of Harbor Light Health, Lions Head Football Coach Jim Schwartz and Matt Gelso, Presidet of Harbor Light Health;  Front row (right):  Special Tree client Carroll P. 

Special Tree Recreational Therapist Kristin Claerhout accompanied Carroll on his big fishing outing with the Detroit Lions and Kevin Vandam 

Wheely Good Job Recreational Therapists!

The Recreational Therapists from Oakland County ran a bicycle safety clinic using adaptive hand bikes for special education students at a local high school on Friday, June 1st.  The participation was great and all of the students were entered into a raffle to win a helmet. 

Unfortunately, due to the rainy weather, we were restricted to the gymnasium, but that was quickly forgotten by the many smiles and “this is sweet” comments from students, most of who had never been on a bike!  Some of the high school staff and family members of the students were able to talk with the Recreational Therapists about adaptive sports and recreational activities and enjoyed collecting some of the resources from our display table.  Go Team! 

Let's Party

Heidi Nadobny, Recreational Therapist

Midland NeuroSkills Center

To the client it’s simply a party, but I like to call it an “acclimation” activity. It’s a nice way for our younger clients who are having issues getting back into the swing of socializing, and spending time with friends to get reacquainted.

I like to set up a small party in a non-stressful environment, invite the client and friends to in a situation where they can interact with each other with video games, and other fun activities they enjoy. The purpose is to address issues of non-communication between the client and his or her friends, and to answer any questions they might have about what’s going on. It’s also a great opportunity to talk about how, although the client may have some visible or obvious differences than prior to the accident, they are the same person. I emphasize the importance of still doing activities together, not being afraid to talk to the client about the same things they talked about prior to the accident and so on. A lot of the times the client’s peers are more hesitant and fearful of talking to the client than the client is of talking to them. But after an afternoon of fun everyone is usually more at ease.