Fried Green Tomatoes Anyone?

This is the prime time of the year for green tomatoes and no one is happier than the many fans of RST Lisia Cisero’s fried green tomatoes, which she cooks up in big batches for clients and staff at Webster Court. Lisia gets her green tomatoes from Webster Court’s vegetable garden and also from the gardens of her coworkers who know they won't go to waste.  “Everyone loves them,” says Lisia, who modified her grandma’s recipe to make it her own.   “It’s always a little get together on tomatoe day!”  Thanks for sharing, Lisia.

Lisia's Fried Green Tomatoes

4-6 large green tomatoes

3 eggs


1 cup all-purpose flour


1 cup yellow cornmeal


2 teaspoons salt


1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


1 quart vegetable oil for frying


Directions


1. Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.


2. Whisk eggs in a medium-size bowl with salt and pepper. Mix flour and cornmeal in a medium-sized bowl and scoop onto a plate. Dip tomatoes into flour mixture to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into the egg mixture.


3. In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels, sprinkle with hot sauce and enjoy!

Life's Too Short

Many thanks to our client Jasper who shared this inspiring post from his personal blog at http://www.godknowsjasper.blogspot.com/

September 1, 2011

My name is Jasper and although I'm a quad I attended my high school reunion.  It was a beautiful day and also it was a beautiful reunion, getting to see people I hadn't seen in years.  My daughters were there along with my grandchildren and it just made for a beautiful family day.  I really want to send out this message that if you're disabled, or you are going through some type of rehab and you're thinking that your life is over because you can't do the things you used to do - think again.  Life is too short to cut yourself out just because you have a set back.  And that's all that is, a set back, because with the technology they have today you can still live a full life but there are some things you have to do.  First of all, take an attitude check.  Make sure you have a positive, uplifting attitude about yourself, and then surround yourself with positive people, doing positive things.  The worst thing you could do is be around a bunch of negative, stand still people, never doing anything different.  I had a wonderful time at that reunion and two weeks before that I went to a church picnic and I had a wonderful time there and I have no control over my body, but I have tons of support.  These are the things you have to do if you can't do things for yourself.  You can still live a joyful life.  Put yourself in the hands of God and go on living your life.  He'll make a way for you.  So don't be discouraged.  It's not the end of the world, not yet.  Put a big smile on your face, take an attitude check and live your life. 

Client's Got Game

After a year of rehabilitation, Josh is back at college and working hard to conquer the court once again.

Special Tree client Josh E. knows hard work. As a student at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), he puts in long study hours as an Occupational Therapy student. But Josh’s work ethic is deeper than that. With a passion for basketball, Josh made the Cardinals as a walk-on, started five games, and was awarded an athletic scholarship his sophomore year. Josh’s future looked bright, but his life took an unexpected turn when he sustained a TBI in a serious car accident in the fall of 2010, leaving his life forever changed and his future uncertain.

After his discharge from the hospital, Josh came to Special Tree in Midland for outpatient therapy and to live in a semi-independent apartment. Josh’s circumstances had changed, but not his steadfast determination to achieve his goals; return to SVSU as a student athlete and ultimately become an OT. “I’m not afraid of a little sweat,” he said. Josh’s therapy team incorporated his goals into a treatment plan to get him back to school and on-the-court ready. PT built up Josh’s endurance to competitive levels with long hours on the treadmill and running cones, while OT addressed Josh’s vision and fine motor challenges. To get Josh ready for school, Mike Dodman, Speech Language Pathologist, worked with him on organizational and compensatory strategies and found high-tech adaptive devices, such as the Livescribe pen to help with note taking and compression in class.

Josh now lives in an apartment with college friends and has returned to SVSU as a full-time student, driving himself to and from class. Still using the strategies he learned with the clinical team, Josh is a successful student. With his physical endurance increasing, Josh now works with a physical/sports trainer to focus on returning to basketball shape and continues outpatient therapy at Special Tree.

Moving forward, it’s easy to wonder how Josh will use his experience to help his own clients when he becomes an OT. “I’ll be a better OT because I’ve seen the other side,” he said. “I know that kind of pain first-hand — both physically and emotionally.”

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.

A Glass Act

By Rebecca Potter, MS, LLP, CBIS, BCBA 

Special Tree Psychologist

On June 9th the Women’s Therapy Support group of Troy headed out to explore a day of yore at Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Ladies: Violet L. of Moravian, Laura M. of Beverly Hills and Dusanka E. and Lisa G. of Trevino arrived via four wheeled coach to be greeted by their tour guides, Staff member Rebecca Potter, Limited Licensed Psychologist and psychology student Leigh Jouppi.

After entering through the gates the ladies were greeted by the whistle blow of the old steam engine awaiting her boarding passengers at the Firestone Train Station. Rounding the first corner past the Soybean Lab Agricultural Gallery the ladies were pleasantly surprised by that old familiar “aaaoooogggaaa” sound of the passing Model T Ford.

First on the agenda was a glass pulling class at the Glass Shop. The ovens were fired up and ready to go as the instructor suited each lady up for safety. Each lady was suited up in safety goggles, protective arm sheaths, an apron, and gloves. First up was Lady Violet. The instructor explained the process of how each lady would participate in the actual pulling of the glass, the uniqueness of the colors of the glass before and after being exposed to the high heat produced in the ovens, and the need for the pulled glass to be tempered for 24 hours to cool slowly so it would not break.

Violet suited up and ready to pull some glass

Laura was so excited to see Violet pulling her glass flower that she stood up to get a better view, while Dusanka assisted the instructor in pulling the glass with the glass tweezers.

Dusanka and the instructor pull the glass with tweezers

Lady Lisa used the glass paddle to flatten the glass in preparation of pulling. Lady Laura used the tweezers to pull her straight tail flower into shape. Laura was unique in that she was the only lady to choose a straight tail on her flower.

Lisa flattens her glass in preparation of pulling

After the glass pulling activity the ladies dined on Michigan sourced foods available at the Michigan Café. Three of the ladies chose the pulled pork sandwich while one feasted on the Michigan cherry salad and soup. All ladies received a Henry Ford/Greenfield Village commemorative cup. After lunch the ladies and guides set out to explore the village. Just past the homes of Robert Frost and Noah Webster the ladies stopped for a short break at the Cotswold Cottage. Rounding out the trip across from the Wright Brother’s Home and Cycle Shop the ladies learned about millinery (hat making) at the Cohen Millinery and catsup at the Heinz House.

After a fun filled 6 hours the ladies boarded their 4 wheeled coach and headed back into the present day. Approximately 1 week after the trip the ladies each received their flowers as they had completed the curing process.

Storms Hold Off for Client Picnic

With the threat of a thunderstorm in the forecast, 30+ members of Special Tree’s Community Living Skills (CLS) groups trekked out for their annual picnic at Metro Park hosted by the Tuesday CLS group on June 21, 2011. Clients in the group contributed their time and talents to make the event a big success including designing the rockin’ t-shirts (thanks Doug), creating the picnic banner (thanks Carol), shopping for picnic supplies, and cooking delicious dishes including a tasty chicken cobbler. Some client family members joined the picnic, including the newest member of one client’s family, Duke, an Australian Shepherd puppy that stole the hearts of all who attended. “A good time was had by all!” said Special Tree Speech Therapist and a group facilitator Lauren Garrisi. “I’m so honored to be a part of the peer group.” NCC Outpatient Case Manager and group facilitator Beth Smith added, “It’s so important for staff to let clients take the runway in these types of events – and that happened yesterday. It was a perfect show of cooperation, fun, and friendship.” Steve, a CLS member, couldn’t agree more. “I was amazed at the care and respect that the staff had for each and every client’s need.” Submitted by Beth Smith, NCC Outpatient Case Manager/Social Worker

Play Ball!

Keyon has always been a fan of sports. But the youngest member of Special Tree’s Royal Oak pediatric residence, didn’t have the opportunity to play competitively prior the severe brain injury he experienced in 2009, until now. For the first time, Keyon is starting the baseball season as a team player. This summer, Keyon is playing baseball on the Miracle League, an organization that provides children with challenges an opportunity to play baseball as a team member on an organized league. Each week Keyon and his assistive “buddy” bat, catch, throw and run the bases. An experience that’s not only helped Keyon grow, but has been encouraging for the Royal Oak staff who regularly attend. “It’s very exciting for us,” says Joanna Kirkpatrick, Royal Oak Residential Program Manager. “He’s come such a long way and it’s exciting to see him do normal things that just a year before were far beyond his reach.”

When Keyon first came to Special Tree, he was on a ventilator and was unable to eat on his own. After a year of intensive rehabilitation and hard work, Keyon transitioned from the NeuroCare Center to the Royal Oak residence. Since arriving at his new home, Keyon’s progress has moved to a whole new level. Keyon now eats a normal diet and is working with STRS Physical Therapists to learn how to walk again. And despite a busy therapy schedule, Keyon has managed to forge new friendships and have some fun, baseball being the highlight.


“Keyon really lights up when he’s playing baseball,” said Joanna. “Especially when the energy is high, the fans cheer and he crosses home plate.”  Score!