By Mary Free Bed writer, Molly Cartwright Thirteen-year-old Kordell Rodrigues has cerebral palsy. Seven years ago, he suffered from such severe spasticity that his body was like a stiff board, according to his grandmother, Debra Rodrigues. Doctors recommended that Kordell have a baclofen pump surgically implanted into his abdomen to alleviate his spasticity. Debra said [...]

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By Mary Free Bed writer, Molly Cartwright Emily Callahan, like any other 18-month old, likes playing with her stuffed animals. A year ago, however, her mother, Heather Callahan, was worried that Emily wasn’t showing signs of physical development. While babies normally start to crawl between the ages of 6 and 10 months, by the time [...]

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By Mary Free Bed writer, Molly Cartwright After Larry Mennetti survived a hemorrhagic stroke, he didn’t want to waste any time getting better. Larry, however, wasn’t going to get better without a lot of hard work and determination. When he came to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, the entire right side of his body was [...]

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By Mary Free Bed writer, Molly Cartwright Jay Bessey, an over-the-road truck driver, is used to driving 45 weeks out of the year. So when injuries in 2009 and 2010 prevented him from working, Jay was restless. He wouldn’t accept that he would never be able to do his job again. In 2009, Jay was [...]

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  by Kate Snider (www.katesnider.com), Mary Free Bed writer “When I took Sayla to our physician for her 4 month checkup, I questioned her head tilt and she had a bump on her forehead,” said Shanda Bender, Sayla’s mom. “My doctor said the bump was because of the flat spot on her head, and suggested [...]

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by Kate Snider, www.KateSnider.com “It felt like I was breathing through a straw,” explained 11-year-old Kaysey Sterk. “I thought maybe it was asthma. I didn’t know if it [my throat] would ever open back up again.” Last summer, Kaysey participated with Girls on the Run, but found it hard to keep breathing during her work-out. [...]

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