It has been a busy fall of packing and renovating – but our relocation is complete and we are thrilled to be seeing clients at our new gym at 6002 Sunnyside Rd. We are proud to have fostered a partnership with the Incrediplex at their sports and entertainment complex. Their team did a tremendous job with construction.
The new space features a front desk / waiting zone, two large therapy areas, therapy offices, FES station, gym space for our wheelchair gym, NuSteps, cable machine and SCIFit Arm/leg cycle, a PowerPlate for vibration training, adaptable Total Gym, and more. Additionally, there is an area cut specifically for our gait training treadmill system when it arrives later this year and we become an affiliate of the Christopher and Dana Reeve FoundationNeuroRecovery Network.
We are now open 5 days per week, and are excited to ramp up scheduling as we begin a research program with the University of Indianapolis in the coming months!
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/newGym_blog.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-12-21 14:31:052017-12-21 14:31:05Welcome To Our New Home at the Incrediplex!
For the third consecutive year, Team NeuroHope ROCKED OUT the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and raised more than $7,000 in the process! NeuroHope Board Treasurer Allison Leeuw quarterbacked our team of 20+ runners, joggers and walkers (with an assist from Events Coordinator Justin Davis) to make our third year the largest yet!
A heartfelt and resounding THANK YOU goes to our entire team, and each and every one of the donors that pledged support to their individual efforts, and a special shout-out goes to the teams at Hensley Legal Group who came out in full force as race participants and volunteers with the Monumental organizers!
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/monumental2017_blog.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-11-07 17:46:212017-11-07 17:46:21Team NeuroHope at 2017 Monumental Marathon!
NeuroHope’s own Donna Peterson was honored this weekend by the Indiana Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association as the winner of the 2017 Schneider Physical Therapist Assistant Award!
The annual award is presented to an outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) in Indiana, and we are thrilled for Donna and her family for such well-deserved recognition.
Donna has established herself as one of the most knowledgeable and trusted neuro PTAs in our community. As one of the first employees of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana, as a teacher at the University of Indianapolis, and as a founding member of NeuroHope, her expertise of the field is second to none.
Donna was the first therapist I had upon my admission to inpatient rehabilitation following my spinal cord injury in 2010. She worked with me for two straight months. She pushed me, encouraged me, and educated me during the most trying time of my life. The passion Donna shows for her work and for each one of her patients is evident. I was lucky to have her as my therapist then, and I’m lucky to have her as an integral part of NeuroHope now, seven years later.
On behalf of all the patients, students, co-workers and friends whose lives she has touched throughout her career – we say: CONGRATULATIONS DONNA!!
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Donna_Award-1.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-10-29 13:07:142017-10-30 11:11:57Donna Peterson Named Indiana PTA of the Year
Last month, I received a phone call from Isaac Keplinger, a senior division manager at Reynolds American Inc. He told me that he heard about NeuroHope, looked us up, and was in awe of what we were creating for Indianapolis.
Isaac has lived through neurologic injury. He has traveled the difficult road to recovery following traumatic brain injury, and has learned first-hand that options for continued care are limited.
He told me that NeuroHope’s mission affected him deeply – and he wanted to help!
Isaac’s team at Reynolds American chose to support NeuroHope for their annual “Day of Caring”, an outreach project to give back to local causes through a day of volunteer work. With our move to the Incrediplex gym around the corner – the timing was perfect! Their team arrived on-site first thing in the morning, and broke ground on the future site of the “NeuroHope Garden” in front of our new gym.
Brush was cleared, weeds were pulled, stumps were removed, branches and bushes were trimmed. They worked through the rain, they worked through lunch, and the end result was spectacular!
Isaac had this to say about the afternoon:
“Our day spent giving back to NeuroHope was nothing short of amazing! I am fortunate to work for an organization that allows their employees to donate time supporting local organizations of our choice that we are passionate about. For my team’s “Day of Caring” we decided to support NeuroHope of Indiana based on their passion to drive change within the healthcare arena and help the far too many underserved individuals that are subjected to a multitude of constraints in today’s healthcare and insurance marketplace. Unfortunately, in today’s world, organizations like NeuroHope are rarities. They continually sacrifice so much, to focus their passion and talents to serve others; delivering hope in the process. Chris and everyone at NeuroHope are trailblazers that continue to effect change”.
I can’t thank Isaac and his team enough for reaching out and spending their day to help prepare our new home at the Incrediplex.
IT WAS A JOB WELL DONE!!
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RJ_2.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-10-09 08:56:312017-10-10 14:06:59Reynolds American “Day of Caring” at NeuroHope
It’s official! NeuroHope is moving October 1st! Walls are being torn down, ceilings altered, and construction is underway to provide our clinic with a new home as we ramp up and expand services for 2018.
We are proud to partner with the Incrediplex, a 4-acre sports and entertainment complex in Lawrence (6002 Sunnyside Rd.) that is building our new gym attached to their existing wellness center on the east end of their “Incredible” campus. The dream we had four years ago to open a hybrid rehabilitation / wellness clinic for people living with neurologic injury is becoming a reality this fall. In moments like these, when the work and sacrifices made over the years come to fruition, we pinch ourselves and hope we don’t wake up!
We are also honored to have been formally invited by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network (NRN)to join their prestigious collaboration of rehabilitation / wellness centers. NRN sites implement state-of-the-art therapy and wellness programs tied to evidence-based practices uniquely performed and researched at the best rehabilitation centers in the world, including The Shepherd Center (Atlanta), Craig Hospital (Denver), Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (New Jersey), and Frazier Rehabilitation Institute (Louisville).
NeuroHope will be the 12th NRN site, and the 6th independent gym in the world (not tied to a clinical hospital system) that will be participating in unique NRN programs and providing patients with affordable post-acute therapy and exercise.
We have already started to practice some of the NRN’s exclusive Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) sessions. These pictures show two of our rockstar patients (Nathan and Mark) standing while hooked up to 12 channels of stimulation. The bottom picture shows the NRN treadmill system that will be at NeuroHope after our move!
As a NRN satellite, we will be collecting data at NeuroHope and will be teaming with researchers from the University of Indianapolis to track outcome measures and program satisfaction.
(Much more on THIS exciting development soon!)
When NeuroHope opened its doors two years ago, our vision including bringing a NRN site to Indiana. It seemed far-fetched. This fall, it too, will be a reality thanks to support from organizations like the University of Indianapolis, the OrthoIndy Foundation and our many sponsors and supporters.
We are ready!
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/IncrediplexBuildout_blog.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-09-16 18:37:382017-09-16 18:37:38NeuroHope Moving to the Incrediplex!
During NeuroHope’s “Brackets For Good” fundraising campaign last spring, my friend Kara Bastida shared our story with her co-workers at Hensley Legal Group (HLG). She explained my recovery from a paralyzing spinal cord injury, my journey across the country to find a clinic that provided extended care, and the mission of NeuroHope to create a clinic like it in Indianapolis.
Shortly after Kara’s company email, John Hensley reached out to me personally to learn more. He was inspired by our vision and in awe that a place willing to provide affordable long-term therapy didn’t already exist in our city. He came to NeuroHope to see our therapists in action, heard our patient’s stories and was moved by what he saw.
Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Hensley’s downtown office to speak with his team about NeuroHope’s mission and I’m thrilled to announce that Hensley Legal Group has provided a $15,000 donation for our expansion!
This is a tremendous gesture that comes at a perfect time for NeuroHope as we prepare for a move to a new location this fall. Hensley’s support doesn’t stop there. The company has committed to assist with annual funding and is devoted to organizing a charity run for NeuroHope next spring!
Their statement about the award:
“Hensley Legal Group, PC is proud to partner with NeuroHope, an organization that provides affordable rehabilitation for survivors of traumatic brain and spinal injuries. When we first visited NeuroHope, we were blown away by not only the hard work they are doing to help these survivors, but also their values of service and sacrifice. These values resonated with us because, just as John did when he founded Hensley Legal Group in 1998, NeuroHope has worked tirelessly to make their dreams a reality. We couldn’t believe the life-changing work that was taking place every day at NeuroHope, and we knew that this was an organization we wanted to support. Everyone struggling with a traumatic brain or spinal injury deserves the kind of quality, affordable care NeuroHope provides, and we’re honored to partner with such an incredible organization.”
The feedback I received after speaking with HLG staff was incredible. They are a passionate group and eager to help with our cause. It is truly an honor to have their support.
Community sponsors like HLG are an important part of what keep NeuroHope’s services strong. Our clinic boldly operates outside the boundaries of insurance reimbursements in order to provide patients with the care they need. We can’t do it alone! Organizations and community relationships like this make the difference.
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/HensleyGroup_blog.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-09-04 08:31:392017-09-04 08:31:39Hensley Legal Group Donates $15,000!
More than 1,200 attendees from around the world gathered at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in the heart of downtown London for a series of conferences presented by the International Industry Society in Advanced Rehabilitation Technology (IISART). The event brought together healthcare leaders, clinicians, researchers, and manufacturers to discuss the latest advances in the industry and to connect the engineers that design rehabilitative products with the providers that use them with their patients.
Booths throughout the venue displayed the world’s most cutting edge therapy resources, and talks throughout the week discussed advances in neurologic recovery, the future of robotic devices, and ideas for integrating them into comprehensive therapy programs.
NeuroHope Founder & Executive Director, Chris Leeuw hosted a panel discussion titled: “V.I.T. – Not Only For V.I.P.: How to Make Very Intensive Therapy Effective and Affordable”, that discussed the need for greater accessibility to the state-of-the-art interventions created to help injured individuals on their road to recovery. The expert panel featured Dr. Gery Colombo (inventor of the Lokomat and CEO of Hocoma, one of the leading manufacturers for neurorehabilitation solutions in the world), Dr. Dale Hull (Founder & Executive Director of Neuroworx, a state-of-the-art outpatient clinic in Salt Lake City), and Dr. Volker Homberg (Secretary General of the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation).
It is an exciting time in the world of neurorecovery!
Breakthroughs in research are taking place in labs around the world, and new forms of rehabilitation technology are reaching the market to help more people living with disabilities. The goal of Rehab Week was to advance the conversation and find innovative ways to connect the industry to better serve the patients in need.
It was a fantastic week, and NeuroHope is proud to have been part of the conversation.
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/RehabWeek2017.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-07-25 18:59:322017-07-25 18:59:32Pictures from Rehab Week London!
Mark Ashcraft is one of those people you can’t help falling in love with. He has a caring soul and an infectious, outgoing personality. Anyone who meets him is immediately drawn in. He is a fighter with an enormous heart. That is the reason he fights daily to walk again. I have watched the progression of emotional states Mark has been through during his recovery, from the “Why Me?” stage to the “This isn’t going to beat me!” stage. It is inspiring to watch his determination in action. He passed through the initial stages of grief quickly. His goal from the beginning has been to defeat paralysis and walk again.
Nothing can prepare you for watching someone you love become paralyzed and witnessing them struggle to live the life they once lived. You see them unable to walk, run, or take care of themselves. You see them unable to live in their own home. It is difficult to watch the agony they live through on a daily basis, as they struggle to perform the simple tasks they are so used to doing. It is crushing to watch spirits fade and fear settle in for the injured, and for every person involved in their life. Loved ones attempt to pick up the pieces and try to appear calm, even though on the inside, every fiber of their being fears what the future holds as well.
Mark was born with Scheuermann’s disease, and has suffered from its complications his entire life. His is a condition where the spine curves and the discs and vertebrae fuse together. As Mark aged, his condition got worse. The deterioration caused pain on a daily basis. Numerous tests, scans, and consultations determined that surgery was the only option. So, in January 2017, Mark went in for a procedure. The surgical process involved breaking most of his spine and removing the T9 vertebra. Two rods and more than 30 screws were inserted into his spine for re-alignment. Surgery went well and Mark was at home recovering for a couple of months. He was walking with a cane and on track for a successful recovery. In March, things turned in the blink of an eye. He fell one day, and he began experiencing excruciating pain that shot up his spine. His surgeon recommended an immediate trip to the hospital. It was determined that Mark’s upper spine was trying to curve back into the state it was in before his surgery. Since his lower spine was straight with rods and screws, this meant that Mark’s upper spine was applying pressure and pulling on his spinal cord and nerves.
In March of 2017, he underwent a second emergency surgery. Doctors placed two rods and screws in his upper spine to correct the curve that was re-forming. The procedure appeared to have wen t well, but nothing prepared us for what happened next. Mark woke up paralyzed. Doctors called it a “non-traumatic spinal cord injury”. My first thought was, “Non-traumatic for whom!?”
Other than the loss of my mother, watching Mark experience this kind of trauma, and not knowing if he would will ever walk again, is the most painfully emotional experience I’ve ever had to face. I tried to remain in good spirits and stay positive during my hospital visits and phone calls. But, on the inside I was in pain too. I became the cheerleader on days he wanted to give up, the therapist on days he needed guidance, and the coach on the days he needed a pep talk. Luckily, pep talks weren’t needed very much. I have a fighter on my hands. I have never known anyone with such a fighting spirit.
After several weeks in the hospital with no significant changes, we were let loose into the wonderful world of rehabilitation. Here, Mark learned how to live with his disability. He learned ways to shower, get dressed, and use a catheter. He learned exercises to strengthen his upper body to assist with transfers. Physical therapy sessions using hoists to get him standing, and exercises that helped him bear weight became his daily grind. By the time Mark’s insurance was capped and his therapy benefits were exhausted, he was on his way to making great progress. In fact, his last week in rehab he stood on his own for a few moments by holding onto the wall. But, in spite of his progress, I was worried about how Mark would continue his recovery with home rehabilitation, and I was concerned he wouldn’t receive the expertise he needed to learn to walk again. Mark was concerned as well. And within a few weeks of being home, I could tell he was becoming down and depressed.
Then, one afternoon last May, I received a phone call from an enthusiastic Mark. “You HAVE to go to this website right now, and look at this place called NeuroHope here in Indy!”, he exclaimed. I hadn’t heard him that excited in a long time. He told me about NeuroHope’s inspiring story. A spinal cord injury survivor named Chris Leeuw opened a clinic for neurologic injury for individuals that needed more therapy after their injuries. The clinic was started from scratch and was helping people just like Mark. That day, Mark called NeuroHope, left a message and prayed he would hear back and be able to become a patient at this amazing place. A couple days later we were driving and his phone rang. It was NeuroHope returning his call. Mark began talking to the person on the line and I listened to his side of the conversation as he relayed his story. After awhile, he asked the name of the person he was talking to, and he was as told it was Chris, NeuroHope’s Founder.
I actually had to pull the car over so he could gather himself. I’ll never forget the look on his face. It was like he was talking to a celebrity. Mark was so excited to talk to the person who’s own recovery had inspired him to never give up. Someone, like Mark, who knew what it felt like, and had chosen to help others in similar situations. We went the following week for a consultation, met the incredible family of staff at NeuroHope. It was quickly clear that Mark had found a home.
The last two months have been inspiring for all of us. His therapists work him hard, and try new things to push his body and recovery. His recovery is slow, but he sees improvement every day. I’ve watched him improve transfers, begin to stand, and even TAKE HIS FIRST STEPS!
NeuroHope has been a perfect match for Mark to continue his journey, and he will never give up!
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/MarkandFam_blogPic.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-07-14 17:47:042022-09-26 16:40:57Mark’s Story: A Loved One’s Perspective
NeuroHope Founder and Executive Director, Chris Leeuw, will be the Moderator at the Rehab Week 2017 panel discussion, “V.I.T. – Not Only For V.I.P.: How to Make Very Intensive Therapy Effective and Affordable” July 20th in London.
Rehab Week is a series of conferences presented by the International Industry Society in Advanced Rehabilitation Technology (IISART). The event brings together healthcare leaders, researchers, and manufacturers from around the world to discuss the latest advances in the industry, and to connect the engineers that design rehabilitative products with the clinicians that use them with their patients.
The panel discussion on July 20 will focus on the importance of making state-of-the-art interventions affordable and accessible to the patients that need them. Panelists will include: Dr. Volker Homberg, Secretary General of the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation, Dr. Dale Hull, Founder and Executive Director of Neuroworx, Dr. Gery Columbo, CEO of Hocoma, and Dr. Marta Imamura, Medical Officer at the World Health Organization.
View the promo video for the panel discussion below, and learn more about Rehab Week by clicking here.
Video Transcript:
“There is a new paradigm of neurologic recovery that is taking place. Technology, state-of-the-art interventions, and new rehabilitative tools and devices are being researched and incorporated more and more into the recovery process. It is a “cog” in the wheel of a comprehensive program that emphasizes high intensity, repetition, and continued access, so patients can be put in a position to maximize recovery and improve their quality of life.
There is a problem with the traditional healthcare model that centers around reimbursement instead of patient access. Healthcare costs are rising and insurance caps for rehabilitative therapy are becoming more restrictive. We are at a time where discoveries are being made and innovations are becoming available, but in most places, long term access to these resources are more limited than ever.
So, how do we fix it?
This is the conversation we will be having at Rehab Week in London. The Thursday panel will bring together healthcare leaders from leading hospitals, specialized rehabilitation clinics, the World Health Organization, and manufacturers of some of the most innovative technologies available.
I’m excited to lead the discussion because I’ve lived it. I have battled back from my own spinal cord injury and been through the recovery process as a patient, and now, as a provider.”
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/rehabWeek_blog.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-06-20 20:57:442018-10-26 10:24:24Chris Leeuw to Moderate at Rehab Week 2017
The NeuroRecovery Network (NRN) held its annual summit at Frazier Rehabilitation Institute in Louisville, Kentucky last week. NeuroHope is laying the groundwork to join the network later this year, and our staff was invited to attend and learn about the innovative therapy interventions that are being researched and implemented at NRN sites across the country and overseas.
The inspiration to begin this unique network of sites began through the work of Dr. Susan Harkema and Dr. Andrea Behrman, whose research led to a better understanding of neuroplasticity, which is the ability of nerve cells in the central nervous system to develop new connections and learn new functions. Their work provided new evidence about the role the spinal cord plays in stepping, standing, and interpreting sensory information to re-learn tasks.
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (CDRF) helped fund the original research, and in the years since, the Foundation has been devoted to translating results to the clinic to help patients recovering from and living with spinal cord injury.
The NRN revolves around providing Activity-based therapy, a specific technique that activates the nervous system below the injury level and focuses on strengthening muscle weakness and neurologic recovery. In addition to specific manual techniques, a principle Activity-based intervention is Locomotor Training. Locomotor Training allows injured individuals to repetitively practice standing and stepping using body weight support. In a therapy session, the participant is suspended in a harness over a treadmill at a high speed while specially trained therapists move the legs and ankles using specific sensory cues to simulate walking. As the person gains function, improvements in sitting, standing, core strength, circulation, and bone-density may occur.
Dr. Harkema is also a pioneer in implementing epidural stimulation in her work, which made global headlines in 2011 and 2014 for restoring movement in four spinal cord injured individuals. Since then, the NRN has incorporated new methods of NeuroMuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) at their sites to target upper extremity function, increase movement, and improve neuroplasticity. NMES uses parameters beyond typical electrical stimulation to excite the central nervous system and activate weakened muscles.
Drs. Harkema and Behrman delivered lectures at this year’s summit and worked with NRN staff members from sites around the country as they practiced evaluation and activity-based therapy techniques.
We were honored to be invited to the summit and learn from some of the best minds in the world of neuroscience. NeuroHope will soon be one of just 13 sites in the world where these innovative techniques are available.
Learn more about the NRN below:
https://www.neurohopewellness.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/reeve.jpg350960Chris Leeuw/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NeuroHope_Color.svgChris Leeuw2017-05-21 19:02:102017-05-21 19:13:35NeuroHope at the NeuroRecovery Network Summit