Download Issue in PDF Format - Shepherd Center's Spinal Column ...

also inside
Down
The Wonder from
Under
A wounded soldier’s comebAck + wheelchAir bodybuilding
sociAl connecTions + FinAnciAl PlAnning + PArAlymPiAns
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Fall 2012

Shepherd Center Magazine:
Spinal Column ®
Fall 2012
Shepherd Center
2020 Peachtree Road, NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
404-352-2020
magazine@shepherd.org
www.ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Editor
Jane M. Sanders
Design
Soloflight Design
Contributing Writers
Sara Baxter, Larry Bowie, John Christensen,
Amanda Crowe, Rachel Franco, Caroline
Harrell, Phillip Jordan, Florina Newcomb,
Cara Puckett, Scott Sikes, Midge Tracy,
Lauren Tucker
Contributing Photographers
Leita Cowart, Louie Favorite, Christopher
Martin, Gary Meek, Joe Phelan, Matt Rose,
Brian Tipton, Terry Wyatt
Board of Directors
James H. Shepherd, Jr., Chairman
Gary Ulicny, Ph.D., President and CEO
Emory A. Schwall, Vice President
William C. Fowler, Treasurer
Stephen B. Goot, Corporate Secretary
Alana Shepherd, Recording Secretary
Members
Fred V. Alias, Gregory P. Anderson, David
F. Apple, Jr., M.D., C. Duncan Beard † , Brock
Bowman, M.D. * , Wilma Bunch * , James M.
Caswell, Jr., Sara S. Chapman, Clark Dean,
John S. Dryman, Mitchell J. Fillhaber * , David H.
Flint, Stephen B. Holleman * , Michael L. Jones,
Ph.D. * , Tammy King * , Donald Peck Leslie, M.D.,
Douglas Lindauer, Sarah Morrison * , Julian B.
Mohr, Charles T. Nunnally III, Sally D. Nunnally,
Clyde Shepherd III, J. Harold Shepherd, Scott
H. Sikes * , James E. Stephenson, James D.
Thompson, Goodloe H. Yancey III †
* Ex Officio
† Emeritus
Shepherd Center Magazine: Spinal Column
is published quarterly by Shepherd Center, a
private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in
the treatment of people with spinal cord injury,
brain injury and multiple sclerosis. E-mail
change of address information or request to
be removed from our mailing list to magazine@
shepherd.org, or by mail to Shepherd Center,
Attn: Shepherd Center Magazine Mailing List,
2020 Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta, Georgia,
30309. Please include mailing label. Shepherd
Center Magazine accepts no advertising.
Spinal Column is a registered trademark of
Shepherd Center.
About the cover: Former patient Beigette Gill,
a native of Australia, and her husband Jim
operate a girls’ summer camp in Harrison,
Maine. Beigette returned to work this summer.
Photo by Joe Phelan
Dear Friends,
This issue of Spinal Column ® magazine will tell you about some of the many things
that make Shepherd Center special – from research to therapy to our patients. What
you may not know, though, is the positive feedback we get from patients and families
who rave about the cleanliness of the hospital. They say Shepherd Center is cleaner
than any other hospital they’ve ever entered.
Our emphasis on cleanliness extends to infection control and hand hygiene. In the
past three years, Shepherd Center has had no cases of ventilator-acquired pneumonia.
And hand sanitation stations placed throughout the hospital make it easier for staff
members, patients, families and visitors to keep their hands free of germs, resulting
in healthier living and a cleaner facility.
Three departments at Shepherd Center work behind the scenes to make our facilities
look so good and operate so well. They are our Environmental Services, Engineering
and Food Services departments led by Wilma Bunch, vice president of facilities. She
is supported by department heads: Debra Johnson over Environmental Services;
Henry Burkard over Engineering; and Chef Tim Elliott over Food Services. These
leaders and their staffs are dedicated to their jobs and committed to excellence.
The first two departments are responsible for keeping the hospital clean and in
excellent working condition, and Food Services always prepares healthy and delicious
food for our patients, their families, staff members and visitors. If there’s a spill,
Environmental Services is on the scene quickly to clean it up. If something breaks,
Engineering is on the job to fix it. And if you’re hungry, there’s always a good meal
being planned or served.
In fact, the Joint Commission – which recently completed an accreditation survey
of our facilities, processes and procedures – found no deficiencies at Shepherd Center
in checking a list of 300 standards related to facilities. Furthermore, we exceeded the
requirements on numerous standards. That kind of outcome is simply rare.
We are extremely proud of our clinical excellence at Shepherd Center, but we couldn’t
achieve it without the marvelous facilities we have and the excellent manner in which
our support staff members operate the hospital campus.
A clean facility and a smoothly run operation represent a huge part of our culture
at Shepherd Center. This is a culture that continues to drive excellent customer
satisfaction – both internally and externally. For this, we are both grateful and proud.
Warm regards,
James H. Shepherd, Jr.
Chairman of the Board
Spinal Column ®
A Letter FrOM JAMeS Shepherd
Photo BY joe Phelan
2
5
29
30
32
34
50
Departments
short takes
medical staff profile
Donald Peck Leslie, M.D.
research insights
patient profile
Keaston White
alumni profiles
foundation features
honorariums &
memorials
Gifts of Generosity
If you would like to make a gift to support the work you have
read about, please contact Scott H. Sikes at the Shepherd
Center Foundation at 404-350-7305 or visit shepherd.org.
Fall 2012 • Shepherd Center
Contents
6
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
features
WONDER FROM
DOWN UNDER
Australian Beigette Gill returns to
work as a camp director.
A SOlDiER’S COMEbACk
A former Army medic starts a new
career after rehabilitation.
SOCiAl CONNECtiONS
Patients use social media to stay in
touch with people back home.
ROlliNg OUt
Atlantan stars in a reality TV series
featuring women in wheelchairs.
WhEElChAiR
bODybUilDiNg
Former patient returns to
bodybuilding – in a wheelchair.
lEAviNg hOME tO gEt thE
bESt REhAbilitAtiON CARE
One family shares their tough, but
right choice for their son’s recovery.
FiNANCiAl PlAN
OF AttACk
Having a financial plan makes it
easier to focus on recovery.
SUCCESSFUl
ENtREPRENEUR
Former patient works hard in rehabilitation
to return to home and work.
PARAlyMPiC StARS
Four Shepherd sports teams
members compete in the Games.
Shepherd Center Magazine Online
Shepherd Center’s Spinal Column ® magazine is available at
shepherdcentermagazine.org. Go online to view stories, features,
profiles and more with expanded photo galleries and additional content.

Sshort
takes
Shepherd Center Expands its Medical Staff
Two physicians joined the medical staff
at Shepherd Center this past summer,
allowing the hospital to expand physician
coverage in its Brain Injury Program
and Outpatient Services, says Medical
Director Donald Peck Leslie, M.D.
Ford Vox, M.D., joined the staff on Aug.
6, treating inpatients in the hospital’s brain
injury unit, and Angela Beninga, D.O.,
began practicing at Shepherd Center as
an outpatient physician on Sept. 17.
“The addition of Dr. Vox and Dr. Beninga
gives Shepherd Center a full contingent of
physician expertise to care for our patients
at the acute and post-acute stages of
rehabilitation,” Dr. Leslie says. “We are
pleased to have them join us.”
Dr. Vox comes to Shepherd Center
from New England Rehabilitation Hospital
in Woburn, Mass., where he served as
medical director of the hospital’s brain
injury rehabilitation program. He was
a clinical assistant professor at Tufts
University School of Medicine in Boston
from 2011-12. Dr. Vox earned a medical
degree from the University of Alabama
School of Medicine and completed an
internship at Good Samaritan Hospital
in Cincinnati. He completed a residency
in physical medicine and rehabilitation
(PM&R) at Washington University in St.
Louis School of Medicine
and a fellowship in brain
injury rehabilitation at
Boston University
School of Medicine.
Dr. Beninga comes
to Shepherd Center
from the University of
Cincinnati’s Drake Center,
where she served as
director of spinal cord
injury medicine and as an assistant
professor since 2010. Dr. Beninga earned
a medical degree from the Kansas City
University of Medicine and Biosciences.
She completed her internship at Ingham
Regional Medical Center in Lansing, Mich.,
and then completed a residency in PM&R
at Michigan State University and a spinal
cord injury rehabilitation fellowship at the
University of Michigan. q Jane m. sanders
Campaign aimS to Strengthen Shepherd Center’S injury prevention outreaCh
Shepherd Center has long worked
to educate young people on ways to
prevent the injuries that land them in
the hospital.
The Center has dispatched staff
members to Atlanta-area schools and
driver’s education classes, advising
young people to wear seatbelts and
helmets and to always determine the
depth before jumping into water. And
three years ago, orthopedic surgeon
Herndon Murray, M.D., the medical
director of Shepherd’s Spinal Cord Injury
Program, developed a special program
called YIPES! (Youth Injury Prevention
Education at Shepherd).
Now, Shepherd seeks to spread that
message to all ages by launching a
$450,000 fundraising campaign to step
up injury prevention efforts – and to
establish an endowment to ensure such
efforts continue well into the future.
“The campaign will allow Shepherd
Center to promote injury prevention
to broader audiences than we have
ever reached before,” says Scott Sikes,
executive director of the Shepherd
Center Foundation. “At the same time, it
will help accomplish another important
goal of increasing household awareness
of Shepherd’s work.”
Through the expanded injury
prevention program, Shepherd Center
will provide materials and expert
instruction to schools, employers and
organizations on the simple steps
that prevent catastrophic injuries. The
Center has also hired former Shepherd
Center case manager Bridget Metzger
as the director of injury prevention and
education services.
Tommy Malone, an attorney with
the Malone Law firm, is heading the
campaign along with fellow lawyer
George Fryhofer of Butler, Wooten
& Fryhofer. So far, the two have
raised $150,000 for Shepherd’s injury
prevention efforts.
Malone and Fryhofer represent
clients who have sustained preventable
angela Beninga, d.o. Ford vox, M.d.
injuries. They have long admired the
work of Shepherd Center and see their
involvement as a way to give back.
“There’s so much we’re learning about
how to prevent injuries,” Malone says. “If
we can get the word out to the public,
we can reduce the number of injuries
caused by accidents and
carelessness. We just
want people to be
careful and safe.”
q sara Baxter
For
detailed
information on devices
and smart phone apps aimed at
preventing distracted driving – a major cause
of injuries – go to the fall 2012 online edition of
Shepherd Center’s magazine at
shepherdcentermagazine.org.
Shepherd Center ComeS to the reSCue
Recognizing that only 47 percent of people
with disabilities have developed plans to
evacuate their homes in the event of a
disaster, and that only 54 percent know
whom to contact about emergency plans
in their community, Shepherd Center has
come to the rescue with an innovative
community service program.
In January 2012, Shepherd Center
launched the RESCUE Program to
provide home alert labels and education
for people with physical and/or cognitive
limitations who might find themselves
in emergency situations. The mission
is to aid in quicker response times
Head to the Ski Slopes
with Upcoming Therapeutic
Recreation Trip
The Shepherd Center Therapeutic Recreation
Department is offering an upcoming trip that
will allow former patients an opportunity to
experience adaptive snow skiing.
Former patients, along with their families
and friends, can snow ski with Shepherd
Center’s Therapeutic Recreation Department
and SkiMore Tours on a trip to Steamboat
Springs, Colo. The trip, planned for March
1-6, 2013, will include private adaptive
ski instruction, equipment, lift tickets,
accommodations and airport transfers.
The trip is open to all skill levels and abilities.
Book early for discounts. For more information,
contact Katie Murphy at 404-350-7465 or
katie_murphy@shepherd.org.
More information is also available online at
shepherd.org/tr.
and encourage the creation of better
emergency plans.
RESCUE Packets are offered to all
Shepherd Center patients. This year, more
than 2,000 packets, which include the
RESCUE sticker, have been distributed
to metro Atlanta fire departments for the
Atlanta community. Packets have also
been requested and sent to people in 15
states, including Maryland, New York and
North Carolina.
For more information on emergency
preparedness and the RESCUE program,
or to request a package, visit
shepherd.org/rescue. q Caroline Harrell
Shepherd Center phySiCal therapiSt
reCognized for helping teenS
The Georgia Brain & Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission recently
presented an Outstanding Service Award to Shepherd Center physical
therapist Cathi Dugger, who is a member of the Commission’s Children &
Youth Committee. They recognized Cathi for her contributions in educating
young people about disabilities.
Cathi, who is a long-time member of the adolescent treatment team in
Shepherd Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Program, received the award at the
Commission’s annual meeting on July 26. She was recognized, in part,
for helping develop a pamphlet the Commission produced for parents
of students with disabilities who are returning to school. The pamphlet
provides information to help parents decide whether their child should
have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan to accommodate
their needs in the classroom.
As a co-developer of Shepherd Center’s No Obstacles program, which
helps make teens’ transition back to school a little less scary, Cathi works
tirelessly to help her patients, says Shari McDowell, SCI program director.
No Obstacles recognizes that adolescents rely on school experiences
and positive peer interactions for much of their self-esteem and growth.
Designed by the individual patient with assistance from Cathi and other
staff members, the program can include in-school awareness and
sensitivity training for school staff and students, as well as instruction in
medical issues that may arise during the school day.
“Cathi goes the extra mile for our patients,” Shari says. “If she notices
someone is struggling in his or her
rehabilitation program, she will find a
way to cheer them up. For instance,
when one teen became anxious about
leaving Shepherd Center, she arranged
the ultimate surprise – a chance to
meet his idol, Eric Clapton, and see him
in concert. After that experience, the
patient felt much more relaxed about
his future and was eager to return home.
Dedication like this makes Cathi an
inspiration to all of our Shepherd Center
staff members.” q Jane m. sanders
2 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 3

Sshort
takes
third floor renovation Complete
Shepherd Center patients, family members
and staff are enjoying the newly renovated
third floor of the Shepherd Building, which
opened on May 29.
This new unit is primarily dedicated to
care for medical/surgical patients, who are
typically several months or years postinjury
and returning to Shepherd Center for
treatment for conditions secondary to a
spinal cord injury.
Construction began in November
2011 on the 23,600-squrare-foot project,
which involved gutting and reconfiguring
the entire floor to update systems, give
the space a brighter feel and add 20
private rooms.
The third floor gym was also renovated
and now houses dedicated spaces for
the brand new Eula C. and Andrew C.
Carlos MS Rehabilitation and Wellness
Program, as well as the Betty and Billy
Hulse Spinal Cord Injury Lab, which will be
used for research. With 20 private rooms
and four semi-private rooms on the floor,
the number of beds at Shepherd has
increased from 132 to 152.
Private rooms – the trend in hospital
care – provide more than privacy for
4 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
A SilveR AnniveRSARy of ADvocAcy
If you were to call another Model System of Care like
Shepherd Center and ask to speak to the director of
advocacy, chances are you wouldn’t be connected
to anyone.
“I don’t really have a peer,” says Mark Johnson,
who holds the title at Shepherd Center.
That doesn’t mean that other centers don’t
advocate for people with disabilities: They simply
don’t have a person whose primary responsibility
is advocacy.
Shepherd Center made advocacy a high priority
25 years ago when the hospital hired Johnson.
Paralyzed in a diving accident in 1971, Johnson had
advanced disability rights in North Carolina and
Colorado after finding out that most public-transit
buses weren’t lift-equipped. In 1986, he took on and
won the same issue in Atlanta.
At Shepherd Center, Johnson works to make sure
advocacy is part of the culture at the Center.
“This creates an expectation for Shepherd
employees and volunteers,” Johnson says. “When
patients and their families: They also help
reduce the risk and spread of infection
and minimize the need for room transfers,
which can be unsettling to patients. Last
year, a separate renovation project added
20 private rooms to the second floor of the
Shepherd Building.
“The additional private rooms on this
floor allow ease in admitting patients with
infections, allow the medical/surgical
patients to be in one area of the hospital
and provide additional rehabilitation
new employees come to Shepherd, I tell them,
‘Welcome to the movement.’ That movement is
disability rights. And they embrace it.”
Johnson and his colleague, Carol Jones,
don’t solve problems: They teach individuals
to be advocates for themselves. “We give them
the tools, the contacts and the support to do it
themselves,” he says.
Johnson and Jones also serve as liaisons
between Shepherd Center and advocacy groups
that support people with disabilities – such as
AAPD, ADAPT, Concrete Change and NCIL. Now,
he is working to showcase the evolution of disability
rights as part the 25th anniversary of the Americans
with Disabilities Act in 2015.
As for Shepherd’s silver anniversary in advocacy,
Johnson measures success by the number of
people involved in the movement. “At the end of
each quarter, I ask myself, ‘Did I get more people
involved?’” he says. “The more people we have, the
more we can get done.” q sara Baxter
beds as needed,” says Wilma Bunch,
Shepherd’s vice president of facilities, who
oversaw the project.
Final numbers are not in yet, but Bunch
estimates that this latest renovation will
come in under the projected $5.5 million
budget. Funds were raised for the project
through the generosity of Shepherd
donors through the “Keeping Hope Real”
campaign led by McKee Nunnally.
q sara Baxter
the renovation of the third floor of the Shepherd Building brings the total number of beds to 152.
PhotoS BY garY MeeK
Q: what do you consider to be your most
significant accomplishments as medical director
of shepherd center?
A: During my tenure, Shepherd Center made
its transition from being a spinal rehabilitation
center to being a hospital that treats spinal cord
injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis and other
neuromuscular disorders.
I’m glad to have been a part of this expansion. I’ve
been riding the crest of this wave for eight years as
medical director and for almost 30 years in total at
Shepherd Center.
Q: what do you still want to accomplish at
shepherd center?
A: I want to be sure we have ample physician
coverage for all the programs we offer and have
the depth and expertise we need to serve all of our
patient populations. We have just added two more
physicians to our full-time medical staff, giving us a
full contingent of physician expertise.
We have also expanded our research at Shepherd
Center in spinal cord injury, brain injury and MS. We
want to continue that effort. Though I spend most
of time in administration and clinical practice, I have
been involved with research, including the intrathecal
baclofen study with Medtronic. Now, we’re studying
several exoskeletal robotic devices to assist people
with neuromuscular disorders in walking. There is a
lot of promise with this technology if researchers can
find a way to manufacture it at a reasonable cost.
Also, I didn’t set out to be a fundraiser for Shepherd
Center, but I am fortunate to have some patients and
friends who are incredibly generous. These people
include Bernie and Billi Marcus, Jane Woodruff,
Faye and Lewis Manderson, Tommy and Debbie
Malone, Billy and Betty Hulse, and Kayrita and Harold
Anderson, to name a few. I’ve never had to ask them
to give to Shepherd Center. They have learned about
our patients, outcomes, and research and technology,
and they give to support it. I serve on Shepherd’s
Board of Directors and also the Board of Trustees,
and I hope to remain on the latter after I retire.
dOnALd peCk LeSLie, M.d.
MediCAL direCtOr,
Shepherd Center
IntervIeWeD by Jane M. SanDerS
Q: what attracted you to shepherd center, and
what about the organization has kept you here?
A: Shepherd Center’s mission to restore hope, dignity
and independence to patients with spinal cord or
brain injury attracted me. Our patient population was
even younger when I first started at Shepherd than it
is now, but we still largely treat people who are young
and otherwise healthy. We work to give them an
opportunity for a new life.
The people who work at Shepherd Center, as well
as our board members, are some of the most
benevolent people I know. They all want to be here.
Our mission statement is not just some words on a
wall; it’s what everybody is doing every day.
Q: you will be honored at this year’s legendary
Party, the hospital’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
what does that recognition mean to you?
A: The Legendary Party is aptly named because
Shepherd Center is truly a legendary place. I
see that on a daily basis. People who are injured
come to Shepherd for rehabilitation and return to
productive, satisfying and happy lives. To offer them
what we offer takes a lot of money and benevolence
on the part of our benefactors. The Legendary
Party is a time to celebrate what we do at Shepherd
Center, and to be an honoree this year is absolutely
amazing to me.
To be co-honored with my friends, Lewis and Faye
Manderson, makes it even more special. Lewis has
been a patient of mine for the past 10 years because
of back problems. We had a professional relationship
that developed into a great friendship. They are
wonderful people, whom I admire very much.
I am looking forward to The Legendary Party. The
money raised through the years from this event has
allowed us to provide our patients and their families
with value-added services, such as therapeutic
recreation and housing on campus, that go over
and beyond what other facilities offer. This year, The
Legendary Party will benefit the SHARE Military
Initiative for injured service members. q
5.
Pstaff
profile
INTERESTING FACTS:
donAld Peck leslie, m.d.,
MEDICAL DIRECTOR,
SHEPHERD CENTER
exPerience AT shePherd
cenTer:
Medical Director, 2005
to Present; Associate
Medical Director,
1991-2005; Attending
Physiatrist, 1986 to
Present; Resident
Physiatrist, 1983-1986
FellowshiP:
Stanford University,
Palo Alto, Calif.
residencies:
Emory University
School of Medicine,
Mayo Graduate School
of Medicine, Mayo
Clinic
inTernshiP:
Baptist Memorial
Hospital, Memphis,
Tenn.
medicAl school:
University of
Tennessee
undergrAduATe degree:
Vanderbilt University
rAndom FAcTs:
Dr. Leslie is an
avid golfer and has
played since age 4.
His father was a golf
professional.
He loves international
travel and has gone
around the world to
treat foreign patients.
Airedale terriers are his
favorite breed of dog.
Dr. Leslie’s parents
were a big part of his
life. He is proud of
the Shepherd Center
garden named in
memory of his mother,
Mavis Pruet Leslie.
More story and photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 5

Photo BY joe Phelan
By john Christensen
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 7

Beigette gill received an
outpouring of support
from Fernwood Cove
campers and parents
during her rehabilitation.
ON LABOR Day 2011, Beigette Gill lay on an
overgrown logging road in a remote forest in northern
New Hampshire. Her mountain bike had hit a hole
concealed by weeds. She was thrown over the
handlebars and struck her head on the ground.
Beigette couldn’t move.
While her husband Jim, who was biking alongside
her, called for help on his cell phone, she kept telling
herself, “Just breathe. Just breathe.”
Now, reflecting on the accident, 33-year-old
Beigette says: “Life is so precious, and in any
moment, it can change. So you have to make the
most of every moment.”
The Gills were already living and teaching this
approach to life before Beigette’s accident, which left
her with an incomplete C-6 to -7 spinal cord injury.
They own and operate Fernwood Cove, a summer
camp for girls ages 8 to 15. Nestled in a rural area 40
miles northwest of Portland, Maine, Fernwood Cove
and the Gills introduce campers to simple living and
the values of community, responsibility, tradition,
respect for nature, diversity and learning.
After Beigette’s injury, it was seven months before
she was able return to the life and camp she loves.
But during months of rigorous rehabilitation at
Shepherd Center, Beigette began to see similarities
between the two places. “We both look at what is
possible and focus on that,” she says.
Just after the accident, while Beigette was
hospitalized in Portland, Jim began looking into what
was possible for his wife. He researched hospitals
specializing in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation
and became convinced that Shepherd Center was
the place for Beigette. “I mentioned it to a nurse at
the hospital, and she said they had a lot of people go
there, and it’s the best in the country,” Jim recalls.
He faced a number of appeals and hurdles with
his insurance company to get Beigette to Shepherd
Center, but eventually prevailed in persuading the
company that she required specialized rehabilitation.
Beigette’s mother, Cecelia Beveridge, arrived
from Beigette’s hometown of Barradine, Australia,
and accompanied her to Atlanta. Jim stayed in
Maine with their two young children – Sylvie, 3, and
Perrin, 1, at the time Beigette was injured – to run the
household and their business. Beigette also received
regular visits at Shepherd Center from Maurice
and Tricia Rosenbaum of Atlanta and their three
daughters, all of whom attended Fernwood Cove.
“When we first visited her, I was so upset that this had
happened, thinking about her children and how it
would impact her life,” Tricia says.
But in subsequent visits, Beigette’s improvement
astonished Tricia. “I was so impressed,” she adds. “I’d
always heard great things about Shepherd Center, but I
was truly amazed at the progress Beigette had made.”
Beigette’s outlook had a lot to do with it. “Some
patients have a really hard time coping initially
with their injury,” says Jennifer Smith, a physical
therapist who treated Beigette in Shepherd’s
SCI Inpatient Program. “But Beigette never
complained. She had a great attitude and work
ethic, and she was willing to try anything. She was
determined to work her butt off.”
Beigette recalls the impact of her rehabilitation
experience. “Shepherd was my home for seven
months,” she says. “I felt welcome, like I belonged
there. I knew everyone and got to hear their stories,
and see their strength and courage. They prepared
me so well for my life at home.”
Anna Elmers, M.D., Beigette’s inpatient physician
at Shepherd, also credits Beigette’s outlook with her
progress. “The Gills are just great people,” Dr. Elmers
says. “They had issues like every other patient, but
they were so easy. No ‘Why me?’ They were so
low-key, and the treatment team just adopted them.
We called Beigette ‘the wonder from down under’
because she never complained.”
Beigette explains: “I never said, ‘I can’t.’ I always
said, ‘I’ll try.’”
Back in Maine, Jim enlisted the help of an engineer,
and in eight hours they designed a fully accessible
modular home that was built at the camp in six
weeks. It was finished on Christmas Eve 2011, and
Beigette came home the next day. She stayed five
days, and then returned to Shepherd Center until
early April 2012.
Meanwhile, Jim’s preparations for the 2012 camp
season included two things he’d never dealt with
before. For one thing, parents wanted to know how
Beigette’s injury would affect the camp and, of
course, their children.
“They worried about instability,” Jim says. “It’s a
change, and in today’s society, people go on the
defensive and err on the side of caution. I told them
Beigette is coming back. She’s going to be here.
Physically, she may be different, but she’s still the
same person. My point was it’s not like we’re getting
a divorce.”
The other surprise was the outpouring of getwell
letters and cards, most of them handmade by
campers. Posted in the reception area of the camp’s
administration building, they covered a wall 30 feet
across and seven feet high.
“Dear Beigette,” wrote a fifth grader, “I miss you
and camp so much. I heard about your bike accident.
Are you OK? I hope you are OK. Whether you’re in a
wheelchair or not, you are still the same person that
all the girls at camp love. Love, Julia. PS: Fernwood
Cove is the best.”
Fernwood Cove is a rustic mix of renovated old
cabins and handsome, timber-frame buildings on
220 acres at the edge of a small lake. Activities
include ceramics, art, cooking, music and
gymnastics, along with more traditional outdoor
activities, such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, sailing
and waterskiing.
By late June 2012, the first session of camp was
under way, and Jim and Beigette sat one afternoon
on the balcony of The Chick, an unfinished lakeside
building that will house theatrical productions and
other activities. The temperature was in the high
70s, the camp was awash in sunshine and a gentle
breeze carried the sweet scent of clover.
PhotoS BY joe Phelan
Given the camp’s values and goals, cell phones,
computers and video games are not allowed, and
there is no electricity in the cabins. Campers wear
white T-shirts and green shorts. Personal drama
and cliques are discouraged, and eye-rolling,
disparaging behavior and any form of exclusion are
forbidden. The girls choose their own activities and
manage their daily affairs, and when troubled, they
are encouraged to speak up.
“We want them to learn how to advocate for
themselves,” Beigette says. “It gives them a sense
of independence and self-esteem. We emphasize
simple living, and the uniform takes the emphasis
away from image and materialistic things. Since
there’s no electricity in the bunks, they gather around
flashlights, and that brings kids together. They learn
consideration for others and to respect each other
and their belongings, and how to live together. It’s
like one big family and community, and I saw that at
Shepherd Center, too. (Co-founder) Alana Shepherd
visits everyone, everyone smiles at you, and the
nurses and therapists all know who you are. It was a
warm and welcoming feeling, which is not typical for
an institution.”
Because a three-and-a-half week session at
Fernwood Cove is expensive, most of the campers
come from affluent backgrounds and resistance to
simple living would seem inevitable. But it’s not so.
“They’re given everything, and we take it all away,
and they’re happier,” Jim says. “So who’s doing
them a service? The parents by giving them the
clothes, iPad and iPhone, or us by taking take
all the stuff away, putting them in uniforms and
teaching them personal skills and how to have
personal relationships?”
The Gills brought some of the values with them
from a camp where they worked before buying
2.
Fernwood Cove, but they also reflect the thinking of
American mythologist and author Joseph Campbell.
Essentially, the message is: Live an extraordinary life
in an ordinary world.
“The prize,” Jim says, “is to be able to be yourself
and be a kinder person and make the world a
better place. All the drama, all the media and all the
negativity you are bombarded with don’t matter. If
you can maintain that, then you are helping other
people, as well as yourself.”
And, they say, because the girls get to know each
other at a deeper level, they make friendships that
last a lifetime.
1.
1. Beigette gill, who
has a C-6 to -7 spinal
cord injury, worked
hard in rehabilitation
so she could return to
things she enjoys, such
as horseback riding.
2. Beigette returned
to her role as camp
co-director at Fernwood
Cove this past summer.
8 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 9

1. Beigette gill
loves spending time
with campers at
Fernwood Cove.
2. Beigette participates
in locomotor training
during her rehabiltiation
at Shepherd Center.
1.
2.
PhotoS BY louie Favorite and joe Phelan
Some parents chose not to send their children
back to Fernwood Cove in 2012. Attendance at
the first session this past summer was 191 – 29
fewer than the same period in 2011. But the second
session had nine more than last year, and some
parents said it never crossed their mind not to send
their girls back.
“Our kids have had such a great experience there
that, if anything, my reaction was the opposite,”
Maurice Rosenbaum says. “There was never a doubt
they would go back and see what Beigette could do
and see her spirit. It was great for my daughters to
see how she and Jim made it a teachable moment.”
“That Beigette has made such incredible progress,
she could be a poster child for possibilities,” says
parent David Shapiro of Baltimore. “And a lot of it has
to do with Shepherd Center’s help.”
When each camp session began, Beigette visited
the cabins to dispel any concerns and, she hoped, to
teach the campers to accept people with disabilities.
She began with the seniors – 15- year-olds – telling
them that how they perceived and acted toward her
would influence the younger girls.
But when she’d finished speaking, one of the girls
asked, “How’s your left-handed writing?”
Another said, “So how was your day today?”
And when she met with the younger girls, an
8-year-old said, “When are we going to get mail?”
She knew then that the wheelchair didn’t bother
the girls. She was still Beigette to them, and nothing
else mattered. “They already accept me for who I
am,” Beigette says. “They don’t see the chair; they
see the person.”
Jim even used Beigette’s situation as leverage with
girls who were homesick or anxious. “I’d tell them to
learn something new – roll in a kayak, maybe – and
when they’d say, ‘No, that’s too hard,’ I’d say, ‘If
Beigette can do it, you can, too.’ And their eyes
would get real big.”
Beigette has regained movement in her left hand
and leg and had no trouble maneuvering her chair
around the camp. But she was unable to do many of
the things she loved, such as waterskiing, so every
evening Jim carried her into the cabins so she could
visit with the girls.
The bigger challenge, she discovered, was taking
time for herself.
“I love talking with the kids and being out and
about,” she says. “Being in my house doing therapy
is not where my heart is.”
Jim adds, “We have the greatest jobs in the world,
but our focus is not about us, so this has been hard
for Beigette.”
Nevertheless, Beigette continued to do the yoga
that she began at Shepherd Center, and one day Jim
was startled to find that instead of waiting for him to
return and lift her into her wheelchair, Beigette had
used yoga blocks to do it herself.
It didn’t surprise Amy Mattila, the camp’s
counselor-in-training coordinator, who has known
the Gills for 10 years.
“If they ask people to embrace the extraordinary
world and way of life, they have to live it themselves,”
Amy says. “And this is the moment where they’ve
showed the rest of us that, ‘Yes, we do live it. This is
our life. We will be extraordinary through the good
and the bad.’ They’re incredible people. I feel lucky
to know them.”
A gentle breeze blew in off the lake as Beigette
pushed herself up out of her chair, stretching her
legs. Two smiling 11-year-olds walked past, an arm
over each other’s shoulders, and waved.
“What you hear in our society all the time is what’s
wrong,” Jim says, “and what we teach is possibilities.
We recognize acts of kindness and goodness, and
they do the same thing at Shepherd Center. They
say: ‘OK, you had an injury. It’s stable now, and
you’re here. Let’s see what you can do.’ They’re all
about possibilities, too. I’m still trying to come up with
a slogan that Shepherd staff could put on their shirts
– something like, ‘I work in possibilities.’” q
1.
2.
1. Beigette gill prepares
for a locomotor
training session at
Shepherd Center.
2. Beigette and her
husband jim have
two children – Perrin,
1, and Sylvia, 3.
5.
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Sidebar story and photos online
at ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 11

A Wounded Soldier’s
ComebaCk
A former Army medic starts a new
career after rehabilitation in Shepherd
Center’s ShAre Military initiative.
by John ChrIStenSen
There were times during his rehabilitation when
Jarrad Turner would reach across Tracy Roberts’ desk
during one of their telephone conversations with a
bureaucrat and press the “HOLD” button. “She’s
really not getting this,” he would tell Tracy, a vocational
rehabilitation specialist in Shepherd Center’s SHARE
Military Initiative. “I wish I could climb through the
phone and she could see how much pain I’m in.”
Jarrad, a former combat medic and sergeant in the
U.S. Army, sustained head, shoulder and elbow injuries
in a mortar attack in 2006 during his second tour of
duty in Iraq. After four surgeries on his shoulder and two
on his elbow, he appeared to be fine. But he stuttered,
which he’d never done before, was unable to focus and
kept losing his balance. Pain, anxiety, flashbacks and
anger kept him awake at night, and he would get up
and patrol his yard as if in a combat zone.
Yet Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors could find
nothing wrong, and Jarrad’s frustration made it
1.
difficult to control his emotions while working at
the VA, where he was a nursing assistant. Finally, a
doctor recognized the symptoms of mild traumatic
brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and referred Jarrad to Shepherd
Center’s SHARE Military Initiative, which provides
comprehensive rehabilitation for military service
members injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
PTSD is caused by psychological trauma
that typically involves an extreme physical
or psychological threat that overwhelms an
individual’s ability to cope. Mild traumatic brain
injury is a disabling condition that causes a
change in the brain’s cellular matter.
“The worst thing with TBI and PTSD,” Jarrad says, “is
that adrenaline becomes the enemy. When it’s quiet,
you expect things to happen, so your body’s never in
a resting state. And being a medic… I’d seen things
that the average person would never see.”
PhotoS BY garY MeeK
Further complicating the issue is that typically there
are no visible signs that a person has mTBI or PTSD.
“Our society is more likely to accommodate
people with visible disabilities, like those with a cane
or a prosthetic,” Tracy says. “But TBI and PTSD
are ‘unseen’ diagnoses, and patients must not only
manage these chronic conditions the rest of their lives,
but also do so with little or no support from those who
are unaware of their existence.”
Adding yet another degree of complexity is that very
few in the military are willing to talk about the problems
they’re having for fear of reprisal.
“If you want to get promoted, you don’t talk about
mental health issues,” Jarrad says. “It was nothing
to be unable to sleep until 2 a.m. and then have to
get up at 5, and other guys were experiencing the
same thing. But you don’t know how to open up or if
you can open up to somebody.”
Before entering SHARE, the only thing Jarrad could
do was go to the gym and, as he puts it, “kill the
weights – anything to get the adrenaline up. That was
how I knew to respond to things.”
But once he learned that adrenaline was harmful,
he had to find other ways to burn his energy.
“It was very frustrating for him,” says Irene
Pennington, his SHARE case manager. “He needed
that outlet, but a lot of things aggravated his injuries
and gave him severe headaches. He was continually
exploring new physical outlets that wouldn’t get him
too amped up or trigger the PTSD or further injure his
shoulder and arm.”
Eventually he found lacrosse, kayaking and cycling.
And, Irene says, “He’s learning to pace himself.”
He also discovered he was no longer suited to be
a medic or first responder because it, too, triggered
adrenaline, and yet his attempts to find other work
were disregarded. “It’s not that the VA system is bad,”
Jarrad says. “It’s overwhelmed. It was never created to
handle so many service members coming home.”
But SHARE therapists and counselors took
the time to understand him, and Jarrad was
encouraged to see that they were empowered to
make decisions and act quickly.
“He tried to advocate for himself and requested
reasonable accommodations, but he got no
response,” Tracy says. “It wasn’t easy. It triggered a
lot of anger and frustration. But we tried to look at it
with a sense of humor. We’d say: ‘That’s them. We’ll
persevere and get what we want.’ He was willing to
embrace and experience the process and move on,
and he continues to use the techniques he learned
to manage his pain and frustration, and to maintain
his overall functioning. And his perseverance paid off
when he transferred to a different job at the VA and
then took a new job.”
Jarrad began training this past spring to become
a national service officer for Disabled American
Veterans. He will help veterans navigate the oftenbewildering
government bureaucracy and claim
benefits that are rightfully theirs.
“I want to make sure that no one else has to go
through what I went through,” Jarrad says. “A lot of
guys are ashamed they have PTSD or TBI, but there’s
nothing to be ashamed of. You raised your hand and
did what had to be done. Part of the Army creed is, ‘I
will never leave a fallen comrade,’ and I know too
many guys who have paid the price.”
In the two years since his discharge from SHARE,
Jarrad has volunteered at fundraisers for the program
and promotes SHARE to other military service
members. “Shepherd is a life-saving facility,” he says.
“They wouldn’t give up on me and provided so much. I
can’t thank them enough.”
Shortly after Jarrad entered SHARE, he met Atlanta
philanthropist Bernie Marcus, one of the program’s
primary benefactors. Having lost the feeling in his
right hand due to his injuries, Jarrad almost crushed
Bernie’s hand when they shook hands.
“Oh, my God,” Bernie joked, “I’ll never shake your
hand again!”
During a visit after his discharge from SHARE,
Jarrad saw Bernie again.
“I didn’t know who you were at first,” Bernie told him.
“You’re smiling. When I first met you, you couldn’t smile.
Now you’re grinning from ear to ear.”
“Oh, yeah,” Jarrad replied, “now I feel like a
human being.” q
thanks to the
share military initiative
fundraising committee
rives cary, chair
jimmy alston
laura armstrong
norris Broyles
virginia Carron
Bob Cunningham
Carol Curtis
Clark dean
tom garr
Bob hope
jim Mobley
gwin oliver
rowland radford
Bill Saling
Spencer Smith
renee Whitley
former share military
initiative patient
Jarrad turner began
training this past
spring to become
a national service
officer for disabled
american Veterans.
he will help veterans
navigate the oftenbewildering
government
bureaucracy and claim
benefits that are
rightfully theirs.
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
12 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 13

So cial Connections
14 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Shepherd Center patients use social media to stay in touch with and
draw encouragement from family and friends back home.
by John ChrIStenSen
PhotoS BY garY MeeK
When 17-year-old Trent Grubbs of Rockford, Ala.,
arrived at Shepherd Center, he was so depressed
by his condition that he wouldn’t talk to anyone
or participate in the activities that are part of
rehabilitation.
“But,” says Pam Patterson, Trent’s grandmother,
“the therapists, counselors and nurses got him to
where he’s real outgoing. He talks to everybody.”
Particularly important for Trent – and other
Shepherd Center patients – is communicating with
family and friends back home using Facebook,
text messaging and video chats. In fact, social
media have become an essential element in the
rehabilitation of Shepherd patients, especially
adolescents. For example, soon after Trent
sustained an incomplete C-6 to -7 spinal cord injury
(SCI) in an auto accident, family and friends set
up a Team Trent page on Facebook, and it quickly
grew to more than 1,000 friends.
“Team Trent is about challenging yourself beyond
your everyday tasks,” wrote Trent’s aunt, April
Grubbs Riley, in a post on the page. “Trent is going
to have a long road ahead of him, and as family
and friends we need to be prepared mentally,
physically, emotionally and spiritually to lift him up.
Until he can walk, we will walk for him.”
“Social media – and especially Facebook – are
as daily around here as brushing your teeth,” says
Cheryl Linden, a counselor on the SCI program’s
adolescent team. “People come to the gym with
their iPhone and text people back home and tell
them how they’re doing. They might be in the
hospital for several weeks or months and lose
touch with what’s going on back home, but with
this technology, they feel like they’re still connected.”
Facebook and Twitter are not the only social
media available to patients. Shepherd offers
access to MedGift, a free network that operates
like a gift registry. All allow patients, family and
friends to post updates on their condition, as
well as receive messages, send requests and
coordinate things like transportation, meals and
the dozens of other issues that must be handled
by a family in crisis.
Social media are especially helpful, Cheryl
says, because rehabilitating from a catastrophic
spinal cord or brain injury is a long, slow process.
This technology not only gives patients and their
families a way to stay in touch, but it also opens
up access to resources they didn’t have before. ”It
creates a ripple effect,” she says.
For example, when Tanner Hunter, 18, of Leeds,
Ala., sustained an incomplete C-4 to -5 SCI in
December 2011 while wrestling, family and friends
created a Facebook page called Prayers for Tanner
Hunter. While he was being treated in Birmingham,
his family became concerned at the inability of
medical personnel to get him off the ventilator. A
Facebook follower read about it and told them
about Shepherd Center.
“They told us we had to get him to Shepherd,” says
his mother, Christy Hunter. “People we know and
people we don’t know have followed his progress
and pray for him. People even donated supplies and
services to make our home accessible.”
“We have a praise!” Tanner’s grandmother
Janice Hunter posted on Facebook in March. “A
van has been donated to Tanner by a person or
group of people who wish to remain anonymous.
It has to be converted to special needs. God is so
good. A prayer answered.”
In late May, Tina Bunt McClendon of Ragland,
Ala., wrote, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of
Tanner where he wasn’t smiling. What an awesome
young man. Congrats Tanner :).”
“That support, really, it’s the biggest help you can
get,” Tanner says. “My family and friends have been
really great. You couldn’t ask for better friends.”
Trent credits the therapists and counselors at
Shepherd Center with having faith in him. “It helped
me come so far,” he says. “I never would have
made it without them.”
And because their stories are available through
the social media, the people who follow them
sometimes find their own lives are touched and
enriched in ways they could not possibly imagine.
Late one night in early June, a stranger from
Freeport, Fla., named Andrea Smith posted on Team
Trent: “You don’t know me, but I’ve thought about
you and prayed for you every day. Keep up the good
work. Thank you for inspiring me to never give up
and to just keep trying! You’re awesome!” q
2.
1. tanner hunter,
18, of leeds,
ala., and his mom,
christy hunter, use
social media such as
facebook and skype
to keep in touch with
friends and family
back home during
tanner’s rehabilitation
at shepherd center.
2. trent grubbs, 17, of
rockford, ala., draws
encouragement from
communicating with
family and friends
using facebook and
text messaging.
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 15

* *
Out
*
olling
16 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Mia Schaikewitz, a former Shepherd
Center patient, stars in “Push Girls,”
a reality TV show on wheels.
By PhilliP Jordan
PhotoS CourteSY oF SundanCe Channel
Mia Schaikewitz entered Shepherd Center as a 15-year-old
turning the phrase arteriovenous malformation over in her
mind. in Mia’s case, a bad connection between her veins and
arteries led to the sudden rupturing of a blood vessel in her
spinal cord. Within 12 hours of the vessel bursting, the lower
half of Mia’s lithe, athletic swimmer’s body became paralyzed.
She had become a t-9 to -10 paraplegic.
“the positive thing my mom remembers about my first day
at Shepherd is that (co-founder) alana Shepherd stopped my
mom and told her, ‘Your world is about to get a lot bigger,’”
Mia, now 33, remembers. “that resonated with my mom. You
feel more alive to know your circle of friends and family is
growing around you in tough times.”
Mia’s world expands still. an atlanta native and graduate of
the university of Florida, she moved to los angeles where she
works at a graphic design and branding firm. She is a member
of the Colours ’n Motion dance team and plays several sports.
and her circle of friends continues to grow – as many
television viewers might know. Mia is one of four women-onwheels
who stars in the Sundance Channel’s new reality series
“Push girls,” which has been renewed for a second season.
the 14-episode first season, which ended in august,
documented the lives of four friends, each of whom have
been paralyzed through accident or illness. unlike most reality
shows, the four women were friends long before the cameras
began rolling.
“i’ve always been a really independent person,” Mia says.
“Friendships and support were new to me. after meeting the
girls, it was eye-opening. You have a common bond in the
wheelchair, and that gives us a deeper level of friendship. But
what really brings us together is the same spirit, the same
mission in life.”
the women want their show to highlight what they can
achieve beyond what they have to overcome, Mia explains.
the series takes a positive, in-your-face approach in the process.
the show’s tagline is, “if you can’t stand up, stand out!”
“especially in the media and tv shows, friendships among
women are portrayed so often in such negative ways,” Mia
says. “our show turns that around and shows the importance
of these kinds of friendships.”
a private person, Mia had to teach herself to open up for the
show. in the very first episode, she succeeded; she let the cameras
show how she gets in the bathtub to shower each morning.
one of Mia’s most dramatic scenes early in the series came
when she swam again for the first time in 17 years. Before her
paralysis, she was a competitive swimmer and a potential star
on her high school swim team.
“it was the one sport i really resonated with before being
paralyzed,” Mia says. “i felt free in the water, and it was the
one good thing i did athletically.
“When i was going through rehabilitation at Shepherd, the
staff was great about letting me know that i could do anything
that i did before,” she recalls. “So i got back into lots of other
sports and physical activities in the years since. But going
back to swimming – i wasn’t emotionally ready yet. i kept
putting it off.”
in the “Push girls” scene where Mia begins swimming
again, she explains the fears that kept her out of the water:
“i’ve been wanting to do this for so long, but i keep hesitating
because i was afraid i was going to lose my enjoyment of it. if
i lost that, i’d feel like getting paralyzed took something away
from me.”
that’s the kind of tv scene that captures the attention of
viewer Patti Pasch, an occupational therapist at Shepherd Center,
who has been watching “Push girls” from the beginning.
“it has just the right amount of ‘you-go-girl,’” Patti says,
“along with a realistic presentation of some of the physical
and emotional challenges someone has to live with when they
have a spinal cord injury. More than anything, it is exciting to
see people with spinal cord injuries out front and center with
the public.”
Mia is ready to be front-and-center in real life, as well. as a
peer supporter, she talks with people who are still adjusting to
life in a wheelchair. and she is interested in speaking to larger
groups of newly injured patients.
“i remember when i was at Shepherd, they had someone
come and speak to all of us,” she says. “i was a teenager, and
for me to hear someone older than me living a normal life with
that kind of injury, that was one of the most powerful moments
for me. it gave me hope.”
Mia hopes “Push girls” can create a new kind of cure for
those who don’t know what it’s like to live with paralysis.
“i want to cure people’s incorrect perceptions of what
people like me can do,” she says. “ignorance is a mindset
that you can change, that you can cure.
“i remember when i felt so prepared for the world after my
three months at Shepherd,” Mia says. “i thought: ‘this isn’t
so bad. i can do things – just differently.’ But the world has a
different view on it – such a negative one. i wasn’t prepared for
people coming up to me and telling me they were sorry for me
and pitying me.
“hopefully, through this show, we can change some
perceptions,” she adds. “and that will help others who are
injured not feel like outcasts or like they’re damaged. Because
we’re not!” q
Mia Schaikewitz, an
atlanta native and former
Shepherd Center patient,
is one of four women
in wheelchairs who
stars in the Sundance
Channel’s new reality tv
series “Push girls.” the
show was just renewed
for a second season.
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 17

odybuilding
bodybuilding
WheelChair WheelChair
After sustaining a spinal cord injury, Shannon Chisholm
returns to bodybuilding competition – in a wheelchair.
by Sara baxter
PhotoS BY Matt roSe
Ten years ago, Shannon Chisholm, 37, was tired of
being overweight.
Though she was battling hypothyroidism and
Crohn’s disease, Shannon remembers thinking:
“I’m tired of being this way, tired of making excuses.
It’s time to get healthy.”
So she started exercising. Months later, she had
lost 20 pounds, and her Crohn’s disease was in
remission. She hasn’t needed medication in years.
As friends who were trying to lose weight began
turning to her for advice, Shannon decided to
become a personal trainer. She also began
teaching cycling and weightlifting classes. Buoyed
by her success, the Fletcher, N.C., native decided
to push it further: She began to compete in
bodybuilding competitions. In her very first event,
she netted three trophies.
But on July 17, 2011, Shannon’s drive and
motivation were put to a new test – recovering from
a spinal cord injury.
Five miles into a 15-mile bike ride from her home
to the gym, Shannon was hit from behind by a car
going about 45 miles an hour. The collision threw her
into the air. When she landed, her back was broken.
“I had made that ride on that road so many
times,” she says. “It never occurred to me
something like that could happen.”
The T-11 complete spinal cord injury left
Shannon paralyzed from the waist down. After
a week at Mission Hospital in nearby Asheville,
Shannon transferred to Shepherd Center, where
she spent six weeks.
She tackled her rehabilitation as she did her
workouts – with focus and determination.
“Every day she came to therapy with a smile on
her face and exceeded my expectations,” recalls
Shepherd Center physical therapist Dan Dale,
who worked with Shannon. “She moved along at
a much faster pace than other patients, and we
accomplished more in a shorter period of time.”
He cites her wheelchair transfer as an example.
“It usually takes three to four weeks to learn and
master each different kind of transfer,” Dan says.
“But Shannon had them down in a week. She was
an inspiration to the other patients, showing them
how to do it.”
Just two weeks after leaving Shepherd,
Shannon was back at the gym, working out.
Her friends, including Dan, suggested she try
wheelchair bodybuilding competitions. But
she was hesitant. “I couldn’t imagine doing it
in a wheelchair and feeling the same sense of
accomplishment,” she recalls. But after reading
online about female wheelchair bodybuilders, she
decided to try it.
“You only fail if you don’t try,” she says.
Shannon set her sights on the 2012 Wheelchair
Nationals at the Buckeye Classic Competition, a
springtime event held in Columbus, Ohio. From
October to April, she focused on getting back
into shape and learning how to train differently. A
typical workout involved lifting dumbbells ranging
from 30 to 60 pounds – depending on the muscle
– and pushing herself to the limit on an elliptical
machine and parallel bars her husband built for
her in their home.
The effort paid off: Shannon won the competition.
“I went into the event telling myself I was just
going to have fun, and I did,” Shannon says. “I took
the pressure off myself, and it felt great to be back!”
Though she used to compete in two or three
events annually before her injury, Shannon has
decided to keep it to one a year for now. “That’s
because I want to concentrate on walking. That’s
my priority right now,” she says. “Therapy is my
main focus, and bodybuilding is what I do for fun.”
Not surprisingly, Shannon has made remarkable
progress on that front, as well. After leaving
Shepherd, she continued physical therapy at
Carolina Spine and Mountain Neurosurgery Center
in Asheville. In November 2011, she used crutches
for the first time. After four to five steps, she was
exhausted. But with her trademark persistence,
she was soon walking longer distances. And this
past spring, Shannon walked a half-mile to the
pool with her children.
“I’m amazed by everything she’s done and
where she has taken herself,” Dan says. “She
cleared obstacles and exceeded her goals. She
has been an inspiration to a large group of people.
I know bodybuilding won’t be the last thing she
accomplishes.”
Shannon plans to return to her job as a physical
therapy assistant in the near future. For now, she’s
taking time off to focus on her rehabilitation and
family, including husband Ray and sons Brandon,
15, and Jakob, 10.
As for advice she would give to others, it comes
down to this: Never give up.
“You can still live your life. You just have to learn
to accept your new circumstances,” she says. “It’s
a different way of living. But I’m grateful I’m here to
live my life and watch my children grow up.” q
shannon chisholm,
37, of fletcher, n.c.,
has returned to
bodybuilding – now
in a wheelchair –
following rehabilitation
for a spinal cord
injury. she won a
national competition
this past spring.
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
18 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 19

Leaving Home to get the
Best Rehabilitation Care
1.
One family shares their journey
in making the tough, but right
choice for their son’s recovery.
by aManDa CroWe, Ma, MPh
For Chris Schoepke, 25, of Woodbridge, Va., the
summer of 2010 was off to a great start. He had
just graduated from college with an accounting
degree and was eager to embark on the next
chapter of his life. But a summer job painting
houses would change everything. His very first day
on the job, Chris was electrocuted when a ladder
he was positioning touched a live wire.
“According to the report, 19,600 volts of
electricity surged through his body,” says Chris’
mother, Debi Ives. “At first, everyone was worried
about the internal injuries, but once they pulled all
the machinery away, it was clear he had a brain
injury from his heart stopping several times.”
Chris had always been an avid athlete and,
according to emergency responders, his good
physical condition and health helped him pull
through. At first, he was cared for in a brain injury/
spinal cord rehabilitation facility near home. But after
exhausting the resources locally available, a workers’
compensation claims manager took a special interest
in Chris’ case and advocated for him to transfer to
Shepherd Center’s post-acute rehabilitation program
at Shepherd Pathways. The case manager was
confident Shepherd’s individualized therapy, oncampus
housing, transportation, family services
and training, peer support and community-based
reintegration programs would make a big difference
in his recovery.
“It’s been like night and day,” Debi says,
comparing the previous facility with Shepherd
Center. “He wants to be at Shepherd. He says,
‘Mom, people care about me here, they want me
to do better and improve, and I want to be here.’
It’s hard to be so far away, but the progress he is
making and the true concern and care I know he is
getting makes it all worth it.”
By all accounts, Chris is thriving. Since coming
to Shepherd earlier this year, he and his care team
have noticed progress in his memory, speech
and ability to problem solve and consider various
options. He is back to running despite 24 surgeries
on his legs and feet as a result of the accident,
and has even been begun Shepherd’s driving
rehabilitation program after completing a formal
driving assessment.
“It’s been a really supportive [environment],”
Chris says. “It helps me know I’m not alone. There
PhotoS BY louie Favorite
are other people going through it, too, and I’m
happy here.”
At Shepherd Pathways, Chris began with fullday,
individualized therapy daily and group therapy
with other patients with traumatic brain injury
(TBI). Compared to his previous rehabilitation
experience, Shepherd Pathways is providing some
answers to Chris’ questions. Also, the staff is
equally concerned with his needs and goals and
the more routine clinical milestones expected in
TBI recovery, Chris says.
Of course, the notion of sending a child of any
age miles away from home to receive specialized
care following this type of an injury can be
anxiety-provoking for parents. Chris’ father, Steven
Schoepke, visits at least once a month, while also
juggling a business and family life. He says that
even though it may be difficult for families to let go
of their protective instincts, it’s often the right thing
to do, depending on the severity of the injury.
“There was a point when I was fighting my
caregiver-rescuer nature, and they knew it, so
I pulled back for a little while,” Steve recalls. “I
needed to let go so Chris could fully integrate into
Shepherd’s programs, gain some independence,
and build his confidence.”
For Chris’ parents, Shepherd’s efforts to engage
them in the rehabilitation process – even from afar
– have not gone unnoticed. In fact, when Chris had
a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation,
his parents were included in the feedback session
by phone so they could be part of this informationsharing
and ask questions.
“They have been extremely pleased with
everything that’s been done. They aren’t having to
push people to do what they need to do. It’s just
being done,” says Patricia McFall, RN, an external
worker’s comp case manager at GENEX who was
assigned to Chris’ case.
Patricia is also extremely happy with the care
Chris has received. She attributes much of the
success to Shepherd’s team approach and focus
on Chris’ personal goals.
“His needs are being anticipated, and we are
being really proactive in trying to get him back to
where he was,” says Patricia, who has worked in
partnership with Kendra Moon, a case manager at
Shepherd Pathways, to review different scenarios
for Chris. “Chris’ outlook has been so positive. It
would’ve been very easy for him to retreat, but he’s
working 1,000 percent toward his goals.”
And it seems the hard work is paying off. In
the late summer, Chris began living in Spring
Creek House, Shepherd’s long-term, supportedliving
residence for people with brain injury. It is
designed for people who have completed most of
their skilled rehabilitation and are ready to live in
the community, but still need 24-hour support. This
has provided more independence for Chris, who
was most excited about being reunited with his
beloved dog, “Cooley” (a Dalmatian mix named
after his favorite Washington Redskin football
player). This is a first at Spring Creek, and his
rehabilitation team suspects Cooley is providing
added therapeutic benefits for Chris. The next goal,
Patricia says, is to help Chris gain employment.
“Shepherd is so tuned into the life-cycle needs of
patients with traumatic brain injuries from the point
of rescue and stabilization all the way to helping
them reintegrate into society, and they involve the
family in the process,” Steve says. “I’ve seen such
an improvement in Chris. His sense of humor is
coming back, so much so he recently played a
practical joke on his mom by sending her a photo
of a fake tattoo with a note that said, ‘I finally gave
in and got one.’”
For Chris and other people with TBI, the best
approach is to take one day at a time. Fortunately,
Chris has found a home away from home that he
says is helping him get back on track. q
1. chris schoepke,
25, of Woodbridge,
Va., works to improve
cognitive skills as a
patient at shepherd
pathways, shepherd
center’s postacute
outpatient
rehabilitation
program for people
with a brain injury.
2. he is also working
on driving skills.
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
20 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 21
2.
2.

1. former share
military initiative
patient clarence
parker, right,
receives financial
counseling from
volunteer lee Baker,
who is a certified
financial planner.
2. shepherd center
disability specialist
robert antonisse
guides patients
and their families
through the process
of applying for
disability benefits.
FinanCial Plan oF attaCk
GettinG A FinAnCiAL pLAn in pLACe MAkeS
it eASier tO FOCuS On reCOvery.
Patients recovering from catastrophic injuries
or illnesses know the frustration of having their
rehabilitation efforts interrupted or slowed by
forces beyond their control. Relapses can occur.
Stress, emotional issues and family situations can
conspire to disrupt progress.
All too often there is another culprit – financial
uncertainty.
With the potential costs of hospital stays,
therapy, lost work and long-term living
adjustments, patients may worry more about
financial difficulties than physical recovery.
That’s why creating a personalized financial plan
is so crucial, says Lee Baker, a Certified Financial
Planner with Apex Financial Services in Atlanta.
“If left unattended, bad financial decisions
and circumstances can [slow] your physical
rehabilitation,” Baker says. “At a time when making
adjustments and overcoming life-altering injuries
should receive patients’ full attention, calls from
creditors and poor or non-existent budgeting skills
could derail someone’s physical rehabilitation.”
Baker volunteers to help military service
members and veterans with financial planning.
Those he helps include some patients receiving
care in Shepherd Center’s SHARE Military Initiative,
which provides rehabilitation care for service
members injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What should a recently injured person consider
when it comes to making a new financial plan?
“One of the first things to consider is
by PhilliP JordAn
understanding who is on your team,” Baker says.
“Getting things in order physically needs to be the
focal point of the patients, so having a support
system that the patient can trust is extremely
valuable to getting things in order fiscally.”
In planning, Baker says he always starts with
two steps: “The first thing is taking a look at your
credit report. The second thing is sitting down and
doing a very detailed cash-flow analysis.”
Patients undergoing rehabilitation often
receive new income from multiple sources,
including worker’s compensation and Social
Security disability benefits. (See sidebar for more
information on applying for disability benefits.)
Patients often have many new expenses, as well.
Baker developed an online calendar for one
patient to use in tracking cash flow. The calendar
noted when certain income should be expected
and included hyperlinks to vendors’ websites on
the dates when their bills were due.
“This was even more useful for this soldier
because the next phase of his treatment had him
in different states for several months,” Baker says.
Jim Peniston is the executive director of the
Foundation for Financial Planning, a nonprofit
organization that connects the financial planning
community with people in need. That includes some
Shepherd Center patients, particularly military service
members adapting to life with traumatic brain injuries.
“Not everyone needs a financial planner, but
everyone does need a financial plan,” Peniston
PhotoS BY garY MeeK and louie Favorite
says. “The need for unbiased, professional
assistance is even greater when the individual may
be suffering from a brain injury.”
If hiring a professional to assist with your financial
plan, “You need to be comfortable with the financial
planner you work with,” Peniston says. “It is not ‘one
size fits all.’ You should interview and evaluate several
financial planners to find the one that’s right for you.
During interviews, ask what qualifies them to
offer financial planning advice. Ask the financial
planners what organizations regulate them, and
contact those groups to conduct a background
check on their disciplinary work history. Peniston
recommends reading the “How to Choose a
Planner” primer supplied by the Certified Financial
Planner Board of Standards Inc. at: www.cfp.
net/learn/howtochoose.asp.
Whether or not you hire a professional, The
Foundation for Financial Planning emphasizes that
financial planning isn’t a product or service: It’s
a process. And patients starting life anew after a
major injury or illness have the power to start that
process on their own, or with their family’s help.
The foundation details six steps anyone can take
to begin the financial planning process.
• gather information. This includes earning
statements, bills and credit reports. Gather
everything that has to do with your income.
• determine your goals. Be specific. Write
down your life goals for the short term and the
long term.
• Assess the situation. Examine the
information you’ve gathered. How does
income compare to spending? How much
debt do you have? How much are you saving?
• create an action plan. Compare your
assessment to your goals. Is there a path to
reach those goals? Can you create a plan with
better spending and savings habits?
• execute the plan. A plan that isn’t executed
is useless. Draw up a realistic timetable and
commit to following through. Can someone
help keep you accountable?
• monitor the plan. Circumstances change in life;
make adjustments as needed. Remain honest
with yourself and your financial habits. q
Accessing Disability benefits
2.
As Shepherd Center’s disability
specialist, Robert Antonisse guides
patients and their families through the
process of applying for disability benefits
– such as Social Security Disability
Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) through Social
Security, Medicaid and Medicare – that
can help cover medical costs, loss of
work and long-term expenses.
One of the first staff members that
patients’ families meet, Antonisse
answers questions and helps gather the
paperwork and medical records needed to apply for benefits.
He also arranges the required family interview with Social
Security staff.
Below are a few facts to know when applying for disability benefits:
1
Patients are eligible for Social Security disability benefits
the month they apply. “So if you get hurt in March and
don’t apply until April or May,” says Antonisse, “you’ve missed a
couple months’ support. If people have no insurance, it’s really
critical to do this as early as possible – especially for a young
person who hasn’t worked enough to be eligible for work-based
benefits and is relying on need alone.”
2
If accepted, Social Security disability benefits can include
Medicaid coverage and an additional monthly payment
beginning the following month: $698 is the current monthly
maximum. Patients’ children may also receive benefits.
3
Disability benefits are available to patients who are unable
to go back to work or are disabled for at least 12 months.
Earning more than $1,000 annually is considered gainful
employment. Though if you do go back to work after collecting
SSDI, that doesn’t mean you automatically lose all benefits.
“Call Social Security when you go back to work so they can
place you in their Ticket to Work program,” Antonisse says. You
may still be eligible for nine to 11 more months of SSDI benefits
in addition to your salary. And if you relapse or lose your job in
the next three years, you can automatically renew your disability
benefits the very next month.
4
For patients not at Shepherd Center, Antonisse advises
visiting http://ssa/gov – the official website of the U.S.
Social Security Administration.
5
What is the most important thing anybody can do long
before a potentially life-changing injury or illness can occur?
“If you’re eligible for long- and short-term disability coverage
through your job, make sure you have it!” Antonisse says.
Story and photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
22 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 23
1.

a successful
entrepreneur
and Family man
Former patient nick kyriakidis
works hard in rehabilitation to
return to home and work.
by Jane M. SanDerS
Nick Kyriakidis, 39, now known as Zorba by his
doctor and Iron Man by his kids, used to think that
simply being known as chef and restaurateur by his
community was enough for him.
A hard-working and successful entrepreneur in
Chattanooga, Tenn., Nick was raised in a family of
restaurateurs with a passion for cooking Greek food.
Seventy-hour workweeks at Nikos Southside Grill –
the restaurant he and his wife Amy co-own – were the
norm for Nick, who says he “lived to work.”
That was the old Nick. The new Nick “works to
live,” appreciates time with his wife Amy and three
young sons more than ever and takes nothing for
granted, he says. His metamorphosis began this past
spring with swelling in his right leg. Those who have
never dealt with a blood clot might not have been as
attuned to the signs. But Nick had been there before.
He recognized the symptoms.
Nick went to the emergency room at Erlanger
Hospital in Chattanooga and was soon in an
operating room. No one anticipated what happened
next. When he awoke following lengthy vascular
surgery, Nick could not feel or move his legs. Doctors
suspected a stroke in Nick’s brain, but tests were
negative. Eventually, they attributed the paralysis
PhotoS BY louie Favorite
to a spinal column stroke at the T-10 level. Sachin
Phade, M.D., Nick’s vascular surgeon and a fellow
alumnus at McCallie School in Chattanooga, tirelessly
researched rehabilitation options for Nick and
concluded that Shepherd Center was the best place
to send his patient.
At Shepherd, Nick participated in physical and
occupational therapy. He learned daily living
skills, wheelchair maneuvering and transfers, and
participated in therapeutic recreational activities.
“Therapy was very physically demanding,” Nick
recalls. “My body would be exhausted at the end
of the day. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done
physically and mentally, and I used to play sports.”
But Nick pursued his task with vigor, motivated to
return home to his family and to work at his restaurant.
“Nick embraced rehabilitation incredibly well,” says
Gerald Bilsky, M.D., his Shepherd Center physician,
who playfully nicknamed him Zorba the Greek, a
character in the 1964 film by the same name. “Initially,
he intellectualized things, but then he really took it
to heart and worked very hard. He realized our staff
members were telling him important things he needed
to learn. It was just a pleasure to work with Nick.”
Initially overwhelmed, Nick’s outlook began to
change as he observed and got to know other
patients at Shepherd Center, he says. He began
to feel hopeful and then dedicated himself to
rehabilitation.
“Early on at Shepherd, I began directing my own
care,” Nick says. “I managed my medicines and
worked with Dr. Bilsky on reducing or eliminating the
meds I didn’t need. I learned to care for myself and
gained confidence. That helped me transfer what I
learned from the hospital environment to my home
and workplace.”
It was while Nick was harnessed in Shepherd
Center’s Lokomat robotic gait training device that he
got his superhero nickname.
“My kids were amazed,” Nick says. “They called me
Iron Man. They would help my physical therapist (PT)
by holding a soccer ball in front of me while I was on
the Lokomat. My PT would tell me to visualize kicking
the ball, and it helped me on the Lokomat. The
therapists kept varying the routine on the Lokomat,
and they got different muscles to fire.”
In time, Nick regained some movement in his toes
and some movement and sensation in his left leg.
After meeting all of his therapy goals, Nick returned
home to undergo physical therapy twice a week. He
continued to regain some movement in his left leg
and was able to stand for a short time. His sons – Eli,
6, Matthias, 5, and Fisher, 3 – enjoyed helping Nick
with exercises to supplement his therapy.
In late June 2012, Nick returned to Atlanta to
participate in six weeks of outpatient therapy in
Shepherd Center’s Beyond Therapy® program. “I
wanted to continue to improve and get stronger,” Nick
says. “I hit it hard and kept moving forward.”
And that is exactly what Nick did, according to his
therapists. After all, he has a restaurant to run and a
family who needs him. Nick’s work ethic and passion
for food and family run deep. As a young child, he
began cooking with his father, who immigrated to the
United States from Greece in 1952. After completing
prep school at McCallie in Chattanooga, Nick earned
a bachelor’s degree in economics. Drawing upon
both his training and passion for food, he entered the
restaurant business with his father, an experienced
restaurateur, and brother after college. Then in 2007,
he made the plunge and started Nikos Southside
Grill, which has become a popular eatery housed in a
former meat-packing plant in downtown Chattanooga.
With the support of his family and dedicated staff,
Nick returned to work at Nikos on a part-time basis –
35 hours week – almost immediately after discharging
from Shepherd Center in May 2012. He needed
to return to get back to his life, he says. Now, he is
back in the restaurant’s kitchen – sometimes with
his children alongside him – working to develop new
menu items. And he’s greeting guests and chatting
with them as they dine.
“By the time Nick left Shepherd Center, I was not
worried about him going back to work,” says Ginger
Perritt, OT, who worked with Nick on cooking skills in
an accessible kitchen as part of his therapy. “Nick’s
mind was constantly working. His job is so much a
part of him. I knew he could handle it because he
loves it…. His wife is so supportive, and Nick is so
motivated by his sons.”
Dr. Bilsky says he has high expectations for Nick to
continue being the successful person he was before
his injury. “He is dedicated to doing the right things to
get better, and he’s working to improve his physical
fitness,” Dr. Bilsky notes.
Nick credits his doctors and medical team – at
both Erlanger and Shepherd Center – for giving
him excellent care that improved his chances
for recovery. He envisions himself walking again
someday and considers it a realistic goal. In the
meantime, he maintains the positive outlook he
developed at Shepherd Center and counts every
moment of life as precious. q
nick kyriakidis, 39,
and his wife amy own
nikos southside grill
in chattanooga, tenn.
nick returned to work
soon after completing
rehabilitation at
shepherd center.
the couple has three
sons, who love to go to
work with their dad.
Story and more photos at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
24 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 25

pArALyMpiC StArS
Four Shepherd sports team members compete at the 2012 paralympic Games in London.
by PhILLIP JorDan
That’s because Julio is the coach for the Shepherd schools’ joint faculty, researching neurological
Swords wheelchair fencing team of which Curtis is
also a member.
injuries and diseases.
“Curtis is still one of the best fencers, too,” Julio RACING TO WIN
says. “He’s fantastic, a world champion. At his age, For Krige Schabort, London marked his fifth
it’s pretty incredible that he’s still going so strong. Paralympic Games – and the first time to compete for
Hopefully, he’ll go after fencing again in Rio de Team USA.
Janeiro in 2016!”
A South African by birth, Krige and his wife moved
This past summer, Julio served as an
to Atlanta before the 2000 Sydney Games. “My
1.
Curtis Lovejoy holds 10 world records in the pool.
USA Swimming, the national governing body for the
assistant coach for the U.S. wheelchair fencing
team in London.
goal was to train here and do my best to prepare for
Sydney,” he says. After Sydney, though, they realized
sport in the United States, named him an “Icon of
“It was an honor to go with the team,” Julio says. they wanted to stay in Atlanta.
Paralympics in Swimming.”
“My goal was just to be there for them. That’s where I Part of that decision had to do with friendships
And yet, there was a time when being in water
get my satisfaction. These are amazing athletes. I get made through Shepherd Center’s sports program.
downright petrified him.
my inspiration from them.”
“Several guys there asked me if I wanted to join them
A car accident in 1986 left Curtis with a C-5 to
He has deep fencing roots. Julio’s father, also for track practice,” he says. “I joined the team, started
-7 spinal cord injury. As part of his rehabilitation at
named Julio, was on the Cuban national fencing swimming in the pool, working out there. Everyone 1. Krige Schabort
Shepherd Center, therapeutic recreation therapists
team. When the family moved to Atlanta 40 years was great to me and my wife, and I met a lot of my competed in Paralympic
convinced him to give the pool a try.
ago, Julio Sr. started the first fencing program at a buddies there.”
wheelchair racing
“I’d never swam a day in my life,” Curtis says. “I
Decatur, Ga., YMCA.
Krige was injured in 1987, and competes in
distance events.
was terrified. After about a dozen sessions of being
“My dad taught me everything about fencing,” distance events as a double-amputee above the 2. Cassie Mitchell
scared, I remember I was just sitting in the corner of
says Julio, who was a one-time U.S. national team knees. Over the past few years, he has focused on competed in three track
the pool with my life jacket on. I started dreaming and
member himself. “It’s my passion.”
triathlons, a sport that debuts at the 2016 Games in events. 3. julio diaz
saw medals on my neck, standing on a podium. I
It’s also his spouse’s passion. Julio and his wife, Brazil. He has already set world records in winning helped coach the u.S.
decided to start swimming then.”
Tania, are both paramedics and fencers.
the 2010 and 2011 Iron Man World Championships. Paralympic fencing
In the water, he rediscovered his joy and realized
In London, Krige attacked a technically
team. 4. Curtis lovejoy
he could indeed win those medals.
NEW DREAMS
demanding marathon course on Sept. 9 – his 49th competed in swimming.
In the Paralympic Games alone, Curtis was a
Cassie Mitchell grew up in Warner, Okla., and birthday.
results are available
nine-time medalist going into the London games – in
excelled in track, dance and gymnastics. She also “It was quite a day,” he says with a laugh. “It was at: london2012.com/
swimming and fencing, his second sport. (He was
won four world championships in Western-style very exciting to compete for the United States – paralympics/sports/
the first quadriplegic athlete to win a gold medal for
horseback speed events by the time she was 16. something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’ve won
2. the United States in fencing.)
At 55, Curtis is the oldest member of the 2012 U.S.
Two years later, Cassie woke one morning
and couldn’t move her legs. The cause turned
silver and bronze medals in Paralympic marathons.
On paper, I was probably not the guy to win this one.
3.
swim team. He might not possess the speed he had
out to be a neurological condition called Devic’s But I don’t race for second place. I race to win.”
in 2000 when he won two gold medals at the Sydney
Neuromyelitis Optica. The effects left her
Games and broke three world records in a single
paralyzed from the chest down and limited use of HOW TO PLAy
day. But he contended in five events during his fifth
her arms and hands. It also left her with permanent For those interested in joining a Shepherd Center
Paralympic Games this summer.
double vision.
sports team, more information is available at
“I’m used to being the old guy,” Curtis says with a
“After that, it was, ‘What do I want to do with my life shepherd.org/sports. Membership on a Shepherd
laugh. “I was the oldest athlete on the team in 2004 and
now?’” Cassie says.
Center sports team is open to athletes with any type
2008, too. Some of [my teammates] call me Pop-Pop.”
Quite a lot, as it turns out. After graduating from of a physical disability, as long as the disability falls
Three other athletes from Shepherd Center joined
Oklahoma State University, Cassie moved to
within the guidelines of the sport. Shepherd sports
Curtis in London – track-and-field participant Cassie
Atlanta to pursue a doctoral degree in biomedical include basketball, quad rugby, fencing, power
Mitchell, long-distance racer Krige Schabort and
engineering. Once there, she started doing
soccer, racing, handcycling, swimming, bass fishing,
fencing coach Julio Diaz.
outpatient occupational therapy at Shepherd Center. water skiing, softball and indoor shooting. q
Since the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, 26
“When I was first paralyzed, I didn’t go through
Shepherd Center athletes have qualified to represent
the United States. Shepherd sponsors 11 sports
rehabilitation,” Cassie says. “ My paralysis was
not from a traumatic injury, so according to my
4.
teams annually, with more than 100 athletes now
insurance at that time, I was ineligible. Later, I had
participating in recreational or competitive leagues.
the opportunity to go to Shepherd Center, and it was
These sports are as important to newly recovering
amazing. It reinvigorated my desire to pursue those
Shepherd patients as they are to world-class athletes
athletic dreams I’d had.”
like Curtis and his teammates.
She started with wheelchair basketball and quad
“These teams help support physical improvements
rugby, but eventually gravitated to individual sports.
in strength, coordination and endurance,” says Matt
She joined the Shepherd Cyclers cycling team and
Edens, Shepherd Center’s sports teams coordinator,
the Shepherd Spinners track team. Cassie is a world-
“and they assist in team camaraderie, self-confidence
record holder in cycling, but it’s track that took her to
and self-esteem.”
London. She competed in the 100- and 200-meter
races, as well as discus.
FAMILy TRADITION
The Games were a nice break from her day job as
The one person who might have been a bit sad
a biomedical engineer. After earning her doctorate
watching Curtis swim in London was Julio Diaz.
from Georgia Tech and Emory, Cassie joined the
PhotoS BY garY MeeK
26 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 27

Pstaff
profile
did you know?
• Injuries are the
leading cause of
death for children
and adults ages
1 to 44.
• While most injuries
can be treated at
a local emergency
department, if you
are severely injured,
getting care at a
Level I trauma center
can lower your risk
of death by
25 percent.
• Nearly 45 million
Americans do not
have access to a
Level I or II trauma
center within one
hour of being injured.
That is equal to
the populations of
Arizona, New Mexico,
Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi and
Alabama combined.
Source: Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention
Doctors in the nation’s trauma centers are on the
front lines in caring for severely injured patients, and
they often refer recovering patients to specialized
rehabilitation hospitals such as Shepherd Center.
Martin Croce, M.D., is a trauma surgeon at the Elvis
Presley Memorial Trauma Center at the Regional
Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn. He has referred
patients to Shepherd Center.
Q: What’s your role in treating patients with
spinal cord or brain injuries?
A: I’m one of the attending surgeons in our trauma
center. It’s a very busy trauma center, and my role is
to first get patients through their acute or immediate
injury and try to minimize the long-term effects
of the immediate injury. Then, once we stabilize
the patient and repair what we can, it’s up to the
rehabilitation centers. In many ways, their job is
much harder than mine.
Q: What factors help determine recovery
prospects for these patients?
A: Well, so much of it has to do with the constellation
of injuries sustained. For example, if the patient has a
brain injury, but also has extremity fractures, it makes
their rehabilitation much more difficult because now
they have the physical limitations of not being able to
bear weight and also have rehabilitation needs from
their brain injury, as well.
We have to care for the entire patient and their family,
as well. Trauma is devastating. One minute everything
is fine, and the next minute your whole life is turned
upside down. Strong family support is very important
for recovery following injury. That, plus having access
to a place that is specialized to care for these patients,
affects the outcome of the injury.
Q: Why is early rehabilitation so important?
A: If you look at the literature, it clearly affords better
functional outcomes following injury. It would be ideal
if everyone could start rehabilitation after being in
the hospital for a couple days, but that’s not always
practical or feasible, especially for patients who have
Referring Physician Q & A
MartIn CroCe, M.D.
trauMa Surgeon, eLvIS PreSLey MeMorIaL trauMa Center
IntervIeWeD by aManDa CroWe, Ma, MPh
significant injuries. Ideally, we just want to get things
rolling as soon as possible.
Q: What types of functional outcomes do you
hope patients might achieve when you refer
them to rehabilitation care?
A: It depends on the severity of the injury to begin
with, but our goal is to help patients get back to doing
things. For some people, a great functional outcome
may be to feed and dress themselves, or to be able to
walk or take some steps with assistance. For others, it
might be to go back to school or to live independently.
Q: What are the advantages for patients
receiving rehabilitation care at a specialty
hospital like Shepherd Center?
A: By specializing in these injuries, we can pay more
attention to some of the little things, and it’s these little
things that really set some of the specialty centers
apart. These are devastating injuries, and you have to
be able to tailor everything to an individual patient’s
needs. These hospitals have specific programs that
are designed to optimize outcomes in patients with
these injuries.
I can think of several patients that we transferred
to Shepherd Center who had fairly significant
brain injuries, and we’ll see them come back to
Memphis, and they are thriving. We’ve also had
some patients with spinal cord injuries transfer there,
and now they’re able to drive and live completely
independently. So those are really huge success
stories, not only for the trauma center, but also for the
rehabilitation centers. Most importantly, these are
huge success stories for the patient.
Q: Do you have a checklist in your mind
about the patients that could benefit most
from these programs?
A: I tend to send younger patients because we know
this group tends to do better and benefit from more
intensive rehabilitation. Age really impacts outcome.
Of course, the [integrated] services, length of care
required and need for reintegration – all of these
factors into our decision.
Photo BY garY MeeK
Expanded Focus on the NEurosciENcE of
spinal cord injury
Friends raise more than $1 million to expand Shepherd Center SCi research lab.
by aManDa CroWe, Ma, MPh
In 2009, Billy Hulse, a successful Atlanta-area
businessman, sustained a C-2 spinal cord injury
after hitting his head in the middle of the night. From
that night on, life was never the same. Still, Billy, who
passed away in September 2012, credited Shepherd
Center for helping him regain some function and
extending his life.
Filled with gratitude, he and his wife, Betty, looked
for opportunities to give back to the hospital. During
their stay, they met Keith Tansey, M.D., Ph.D., the
director of spinal cord injury research at Shepherd
Center. Dr. Tansey has created a spinal cord injury
lab (SCIL) to conduct mechanistic research to
learn more about the underlying neurobiology of
spinal cord injury in patients who are undergoing
rehabilitation. He hopes to find new ways to increase
functionality and quality of life for patients – and
maybe even cure paralysis someday.
While some early funding allowed him to acquire
equipment for the SCI Research Program, he
needed more money to expand SCIL.
“Early on, most grant agencies won’t support you
until you can collect pilot data proving that your
efforts will bring results,” says Dr. Tansey, adding
that this process can take decades and neglects the
need for staff and supplies to get that pilot data.
The Hulses were so impressed with Dr. Tansey’s
work that Billy knew he wanted to give to Shepherd
Center and help future patients.
Betty and Billy have lived in Atlanta all of their adult
lives, and they have an extended network of friends.
Among them are Atlanta philanthropists Tommy and
Beth Holder. The Hulses shared the concept behind
the SCIL, and the Holders got on board immediately.
“Tommy and I were so happy to lend support
to Betty and Billy, and also to support Shepherd,”
Beth says.
To help kickoff their fundraising efforts, the
Holders hosted a reception at their home for 120
of the Hulses’ friends and supporters. Dr. Tansey
talked about his group’s research goals. Billy and
Betty spoke about the care they received and how
investments to expand the research lab could benefit
future patients. The Holders also sent out hundreds
of appeal letters.
The response was enormous. Their goal was to
raise $1 million. They surpassed that amount, raising
$1.2 million in only three months.
“There was a pent-up desire to show love and
support for Billy and Betty, and this was the way that
their friends could do that,” Beth explains. “We had
donors from Thomasville, Ga., to Tokyo who were
eager to write large checks.”
Betty Hulse was overwhelmed by the response.
“The devotion of our friends is so far-reaching,”
Betty says. “I’ve never really experienced anything
like this. There was so much love and momentum to
raise money in Billy’s name to help bring this lab to
Shepherd.”
With this seed money, Dr. Tansey and his team
are able to hire additional researchers and buy new
equipment that will help to secure additional grant
funding.
“This is going to allow us to expand the lab – now
known as the Betty and Billy Hulse Spinal Cord Injury
Lab – in a way that would not have been possible
if we were just going grant by grant,” Dr. Tansey
says. “We can hire people sooner, and we will collect
pilot data faster, which in turn will help us secure
additional grants and publish our work faster. This
accelerates our scientific endeavor beyond where we
would have been in a typical academic environment.”
Billy hoped the work done in the new laboratory
will yield immediate and long-term results to help
improve functionality for patients.
In the meantime, the lab is helping to advance
the scientific understanding of the human body’s
neurophysiology after injury.
“We give some of the best clinical care there is,
and now this lab will increase our contribution,” Dr.
Tansey says. “It’s where we believe the future of the
field is being defined.”
Billy was proud of what has already been achieved.
“It’s a chance to give back to the people at Shepherd
who provide such a tremendous service to those of us
with catastrophic injuries,” he said earlier this year. q
Rresearch
The Betty and
Billy Hulse Spinal
Cord Injury Lab at
Shepherd Center
was dedicated on
Sept. 11, 2012. At
the ceremony, The
Hulses, center,
were surrounded
by their friends,
who donated to the
lab. They are, left
to right, Tom and
Kathy Weller, Rex
and Duvall Fuqua,
William Crozer,
Beth Holder, Mark
PIrrung, Tommy
Holder, and Carrie
and Page Crozer.
More story and photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
28 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 29

Ppatient
profile
Keaston White
Taking Control, Pushing Forward
keaston White graduates from
law school and prepares for a
career despite complications
from a spinal cord injury.
by John ChrIStenSen
On the next to last day of exams in his final
semester of law school, Keaston White lost it.
One of his medications had stopped working,
and his body felt overheated sharply. Along with
the mental fatigue of taking an exam, he was lightheaded,
exhausted and couldn’t move. He was
also scared, angry, frustrated and wondered how
much more he could possibly tolerate.
His nurse checked his blood pressure and,
finding it extremely low, gave him water and a
pill and put an abdominal binder on him. Then
Keaston asked her to leave the room.
After she left, he says, “I broke down.”
Meaning?
“It’s very hard,” he says. “Mentally, I was done.
It’s stressful to be on a medication that stops
working.”
So for two full minutes, Keaston gave in to
despair. Then he called the nurse, and when his
condition stabilized 40 minutes later, he completed
the exam.
“I don’t know if I passed,” he wrote in a text
message to his mother, “but I’m done.” (He later
learned that he passed “with flying colors.”)
Keaston, 25, has been in the spotlight since
he sustained a complete C-5 spinal cord injury
playing football as a high school freshman.
Fundraisers and other support in Gwinnett County,
north of Atlanta, were immediate and continued
throughout his rehabilitation at Shepherd Center
and beyond. When he returned to high school,
he earned straight A’s, was the prom king and
MeeK
voted “Most Unforgettable” in his class and “Mr.
garY
Eagle.” He also received an award from the
BY
Atlanta Journal-Constitution for academic and
leadership excellence, and his inspirational essay PhotoS
was included in “Chicken Soup for the Soul:
Extraordinary Teens.”
At Emory University, Keaston majored in
psychology and participated in extracurricular
activities that included theater and a step group.
Then he completed his studies at Atlanta’s John
Marshall Law School in three years despite
limitations imposed by his disability.
Keaston wears a cuff on his hand and uses the
eraser-end of a pencil to operate a computer and
smart phone. But he can’t write as fast as others
and used a note-taker and an audio recorder in
class. He also took tests in a separate room.
“Those are needs, not wants,” says Minna Hong,
peer support coordinator at Shepherd Center. “It
takes extra work if you have a disability.”
Cathi Dugger, a physical therapist at Shepherd,
says Keaston inspires other people with disabilities.
“Even as an inpatient, Keaston tried as hard as
he could, never gave up and never gave in to selfpity,”
Cathi says. “Despite complications with his
injury, he had a great attitude, and he has a great
sense of humor. He never stopped, and he didn’t
give up on what he wanted. That’s great for others
to see.”
What others have not seen is his struggle to stay
upbeat despite repeated complications.
“When I was younger,” Keaston says, “I didn’t
know how to make sense of life. I thought I would
be paralyzed, but I would be OK. Then I started law
school, and I’ve had all these medical setbacks,
and it’s turned my world upside down. In February,
I had urosepsis. My immune system was affected,
and my body has been up and down. Now, I suffer
from hypotension that requires medication, and I
have to wear an abdominal binder. If I don’t wear it,
I could pass out.”
He also has learned to supervise his caregivers
closely – “Some of them don’t know what they’re
supposed to know,” he explains – and what to do
when medications fail. Life is not a matter of a “new
normal,” but rather a series of them.
“Before, I thought my mind was in control,”
Keaston says. “Now, my life is driven by changes
in my body, and none of it is predictable. As a
kid growing up, you make a lot of mistakes. But I
don’t have that luxury. If I don’t take control, the
disability will, and I didn’t realize how important and
necessary it was. I didn’t know my health could be
so up and down.”
“He’s had more than his share of complications,”
Minna says, “but he’s kept plugging away.
Whatever your disability, it’s what you make of it,
and Keaston has stepped up when it would have
been easy not to. He’s tenacious and he’s kept his
perspective and moved forward. I’m very proud of
that young man.”
Keaston has had excellent support from his
family: His father, Brady, is an engineering
manager; mother, Shirley, is a registered nurse;
and older sister, Brandi Hoyos, is a teacher. He
was a superior student and never left home
without telling his mother he loved her. But despite
Keaston’s accomplishments, he also realizes
that he’s been in school since his injury, and he
wonders what life will be like when he’s on his own.
“He’s still got a learning curve,” Shirley says, “but
his father and I have been trying to prepare him to
be independent and get him ready for things he’s
not aware of.”
As an undergraduate, Keaston participated
in extracurricular activities to prove a point.
“Society doesn’t cater to or consider people with
disabilities,” he says. “I had this need to belong in a
place where I felt I didn’t belong, so I had to make
myself a place. And that still drives me. It keeps me
from accepting the way I move, the way I look and
the way I’m perceived. I’m never satisfied. I have a
strong longing for everything.”
He’s considering a career in federal government
and as an advocate for people with disabilities, but
he hasn’t given up on his love of the theater, and
he also enjoys motivational speaking.
As for the occasional meltdown, he says, “You
can only sulk for so long. It’s counter-productive.
It’s too much time wasting what God has given me.
It’s a self-esteem thing: I have to accept where I
am, but I don’t accept that I can’t do better.” q
former patient keaston
White, 25, of metro
atlanta, overcame
many obstacles related
to his spinal cord
injury to graduate from
John marshall law
school in may 2012.
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
30 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 31

Aalumni
profiles
1
Keith
Polischuk
MarIetta, ga.
Keith Polischuk, 34, of Marietta, Ga., doesn’t
know how long he spent underwater the
summer evening in 2005 when he sustained
a C-5 spinal cord injury in a diving accident.
“But I learned I could hold my breath for a
terribly long time,” he says.
Swimming with friends in the ocean,
Keith tried to dive from the edge of a
sandbar into a deeper channel of water. “I
misjudged the depth and didn’t get out
far enough,” he recalls, “and I slammed
my head into the sand. I was instantly
paralyzed, but I never lost consciousness.
I remember all that time waiting until my
friends realized something was really
wrong and were able to get me out.”
Keith spent most of the next three
weeks in a medically induced coma
until he was stabilized and transferred to
Shepherd Center.
“I loved that they took the rehab
seriously and challenged me,” he says,
“because I approached it seriously. I was
going to work every day. It was my job. If
you put a lot into it, they really maximize
what you get out of the program.”
3
1
2
4
From near
and Far
Former Shepherd Center
patients from across the
nation report on their
productive lives post-injury.
by PhILLIP JorDan
Today, in addition to a full-time day job,
he has gotten back into photography
and is developing a website offering
wheelchair-friendly travel tips. In 2011, he
married his wife, Hattie, and the couple’s
first child was born in August.
Having moved recently from
Massachusetts to metro Atlanta, the
Polischuks – along with Keith’s service
dog, a Great Dane named Hudson
– have become peer supporters at
Shepherd Center. “I learned so much
from other wheelchair users who came
in to talk when I was there,” he says.
“Seeing other people with spinal cord
injuries get on with their lives meant
the most to me. I want to be that kind
of resource.”
Allyson (Ally) Arnold, 23, of Fort Valley,
Ga., spent last year as the head coach
of Covenant Academy’s C-team softball
and women’s basketball squads in
Macon, Ga.
“I really love the kids and just want to
pour my heart into them,” she says. “I’ve
always been really competitive. I can’t
perform athletically at the level I used
to before my accident. So this is how I
can compete and contribute now. The
Lord has other things in store for me. If it
glorifies him, that brings joy to me.”
Ally sustained a traumatic brain injury
in January 2011 during a missed jump
on a snowboarding trip with her church
in Boone, N.C. Her injury was classified
as a Rancho 4 upon admission to
Shepherd Center. Rehabilitation brought
her back physically, but her vision was
impaired, making reading a laborious,
frustrating challenge.
Further work through Shepherd
Pathways’ outpatient program helped.
“It was frustrating at first to even read a
simple paragraph,” Ally says. “I know
beyond a shadow of a doubt that without
Pathways, I wouldn’t have recovered as
much as I did.”
Ally will serve as an assistant coach
at Covenant this school year. She
doesn’t have time for head coaching
duties because she’ll be going back to
school as a student herself, studying
health and human performance at
Georgia Military College.
“I think I’d like to be a physical trainer
in high school or college athletics,
focusing on injury prevention,” Ally says.
“I like to help people. I’d love to mix my
profession with ministry, too, to give
hope and encouragement through my
faith and what I’ve learned. I’m open to
whatever God opens up.”
2 3 4
Allyson
Arnold
Fort vaLLey, ga.
Tommy
Hicks
PanaMa CIty, FLa.
Tommy Hicks, 38, of Panama City, Fla.,
says he appreciates daily how far he has
come in the past eight years. In June 2004,
a man tried to rob Tommy and his cousin.
In the course of the attempt, the assailant
shot Tommy. The bullet entered through
his neck and hit his C-5 and -6 vertebrae.
“Honestly, it’s still an ongoing
transition,” Tommy says of life with
quadriplegia. “I’m still not finished
adjusting. There’s never really been a
final process accepting that change. You
just adapt and live day by day, and work
to make the best of the situation.”
And he has. Tommy recently earned
an associate’s degree in computer
science, earning a 3.9 GPA to graduate
summa cum laude. He plans to work
toward a bachelor’s degree next,
most likely at Florida State University.
Tommy studies at night in a house of
his own, one that is disability-friendly
right down to its voice-activation
technology, provided thanks to a Florida
homeownership assistance program.
“I was definitely afraid when I got to
Shepherd Center back in July of ’04,”
Tommy says, “but I was ready to start
rehabbing and to learn how to move on
with life.
“The people at Shepherd Center
were awesome,” he adds. “It was just
unbelievable. I always felt like there were
angels at Shepherd Center – all the staff,
the way that everything was set up, the
way even patients would help each other
out. It was an awesome experience, and it
gave me confidence as much as anything.”
Brad
Smith
DeCatur, ga.
Brad Smith, 35, of Decatur, Ga., and his wife,
Carrie, have always biked together. “It’s been
our lifestyle,” he says.
In 2010, that lifestyle was put on hold. On
June 1, a car pulled out in front of Brad while
he was riding. The ensuing crash left him
paralyzed from the waist down. Ten days
later, Brad contracted a rare autoimmune
disorder called Guillain Barré, which
temporarily paralyzed his upper body.
“It was such a crazy thing to get,” he says.
“It delayed me starting my rehabilitation at
Shepherd. By the time I recovered and got
there, I had no upper body strength at all. It
had just zapped me. I was in a neck brace
and a back brace for three months. The
rehab was hard in that condition.”
But he worked at it for three months
as an inpatient and throughout the rest of
2010 in Shepherd’s outpatient physical and
occupational therapy programs. Today, the
Georgia State University graduate assistant
is pursuing a master’s degree in school
counseling. And Brad is also a member of
the Shepherd Spinners, a wheelchair racing
team sponsored by Shepherd Center.
“It’s huge for me,” Brad says. “If it wasn’t for
Shepherd to help with financing, I wouldn’t
be able to race like this.”
He completed the Atlanta Marathon
on his handcycle in fall 2011, then placed
sixth overall in the Tri-1 Division at the U.S.
Paratriathlon Championships in Austin,
Texas, in May 2012.
Just as important, Brad and his wife
are riding together again. The couple
even started a paratriathlon program
in Atlanta with weekly workouts to get
more involvement among athletes with
disabilities. “We want to show others
what’s possible – to help other injured
riders see that they can do this again.”
Story and photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
32 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 33

34 • shepherdcentermagazine.org
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
Duane Morrow
CORPORATE PARTNER
BB&T
DONOR PROFILE 38
Lewis and Faye Manderson
MS WELLNESS PROGRAM 40
BEYOND BBQ
NASHVILLE REUNION
THE TAILGATE 45
SUMMER IN THE CITY 46
LEGENDARY PARTY PREVIEW
DERBY DAY 2013
PECANS ON PEACHTREE 49
HONORARIUMS & MEMORIALS
Summer in the City 2012 was co-chaired
by Sai reddy, left, and Kelley anne Smaha.
36
37
42
44
48
49
50
Photo BY louie Favorite
Photo oF SCott SiKeS BY louie Favorite
NoteS from
scott h. sikes
Shepherd Center foundation executive Director
Six Shepherd Center Programs That Need Your Donations
Many people don’t realize Shepherd Center is a nonprofit organization. Why do I say this?
Often, I see or hear of folks (who have been Shepherd Center patients, families, visitors,
vendors, etc.) spending a great deal of their time raising money for other charitable organizations.
Some people must think the federal or state government supports us or that the Shepherd
family solely supports us. Perhaps it is our own fault that people don’t realize we’re a charitable
organization: We don’t have a big clear plastic box at each entrance with a sign asking visitors
to donate.
However, from our founding in 1975 to this day, we have needed your gifts each year to help
continue our leading-edge research and to operate 20 or more of our programs at the highest
quality level. In this issue, I’d like to bring to your attention just six of our donor-funded programs
and ask you to choose one to support financially this year. Just as importantly, please tell your
friends about what we do, and ask them to make a gift, too:
• Therapeutic Recreation (TR): We operate the largest therapeutic recreation program
in the country and believe this program is crucial to giving patients and their families the
highest quality of life possible. Our program encompasses both TR specialists and exercise
specialists involved with every sort of indoor and outdoor sport imaginable. Easily more
than $1 million annually is needed for this program, which exemplifies the heart and soul
of Shepherd Center.
• Housing: We provide a complimentary apartment, parking and laundry facilities for 30
days to the families of patients who must travel to Shepherd Center from 50 miles away
or more. We have apartments on our main campus and just a few city blocks off the main
campus. We provide complimentary transportation between our different apartments to
the main campus and to/from Shepherd Pathways – our post-acute/outpatient brain injury
program. Just imagine how many hundreds of thousands of dollars per year this costs
– nearly $1 million annually.
• Assistive Technology: We provide custom-made solutions to patients in the hospital,
in their offices and back at home to help them control all sorts of devices with their eyes,
breath, voice, head, arms and hands. As inexpensively as possible, we work to return
them to control of everything possible as quickly as possible.
• SHARE Military Initiative: We treat active-duty military personnel and new veterans
(from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) for traumatic brain injury and a host of complications
at no cost to the military personnel or their families.
• Beyond Therapy ® Tennessee: In Franklin, a suburb of Nashville, we provide a specialized,
intensive activity-based physical therapy program to former patients who have a brain or
spinal cord injury or other neuromuscular condition. We provide scholarships to assist
many of them with payments for these services.
• Injury Prevention: We are in the early stages of launching a new injury prevention
program and need your donations to help us finance the costs of producing public service
announcements across all media platforms.
If you would like to know more about any of these programs, please call me at
404-350-7305 or email me at scott_sikes@shepherd.org.
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 35

v
shepherd center
volunteer, former
patient and wheelchair
racer duane morrow
provides news
commentary on the
Wheelchair division
of the peachtree
road race.
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
Duane Morrow
Former Shepherd Center patient refuses to let adversities
prevent him from living and giving back.
by raCheL FranCo
With a successful career, a happy marriage and
five children by age 36, Duane Morrow had a
wonderful life. Working in London in 2004, Duane
took up rugby, which he played with relatively
minor incident until an injury that Duane initially
shrugged off.
He does not recall anything unusual happening
during the game, but the next day, however, he
experienced swelling in his spine, and he felt his
body shut down. In short, during this seemingly
uneventful rugby game, Duane had critically
ruptured a disk at the base of his neck and
subsequently developed quadriplegia.
After undergoing surgery in London, Duane was
taken to Shepherd Center via jet ambulance for
rehabilitation. As much as the therapists pushed
Duane, he pushed his therapists to push him to
do more – to practice getting in and out of his
wheelchair again, to practice getting dressed
again, to do whatever he needed to do to gain
more movement again.
“I worked hard to become as independent as
possible,” Duane says. “Today, I am a ‘walking
quadriplegic’, meaning I can walk using either a cane
or FES Bioness leg brace. I credit my cool God, my
hard work, my positive attitude, my family and my
incredible therapists at Shepherd Center for helping
me achieve all of the movement I have today.”
Now that Duane has found what he calls his
“new normal,” he gives back to Shepherd Center in
any way he can. For example, since 2008, he has
volunteered at Shepherd’s annual Adventure Skills
Workshop (ASW), a camp-like weekend held at
Lake Martin in Jackson’s Gap, Ala., for people with
a spinal cord injury or other disabilities. At the camp,
Duane generously donates his all-terrain vehicles,
mans the water skiing station and, most importantly,
offers camp participants invaluable encouragement
as they engage in different activities.
Duane also serves on the Center’s Foundation
board, through which he and his fellow board
members have helped raise $6 million this year for
hospital renovations. Duane attributes his success
in fundraising to his serving as living proof of the
value Shepherd Center provides.
Of all his volunteer activities at Shepherd, Duane
says his favorite one is helping
other patients. “In my corporate job,
I help people succeed,” he says.
“But helping people at Shepherd
has become a whole other calling
where I get to show them that you
do not have to be a victim. Life in a
wheelchair can be pretty cool.”
Duane also volunteers at
the Peachtree Road Race as a
broadcaster for 11Alive TV. In this
role, he provides commentary on
the race as an expert from the
Wheelchair Division.
Between his volunteer activities,
his still successful career and happy
family, and his participation in
various sports, Duane has certainly
not slowed down.
“Duane is one of a kind,” says
Kelly Edens, therapeutic recreation
manager at Shepherd Center. “He
is always helping other patients and
showing them firsthand that they can
still live life to the fullest.” q
Photo BY louie Favorite
Photo BY louie Favorite
A Corporate Partner
BB&t transcends client-banker relationship to become
a dedicated partner to Shepherd Center.
by raCheL FranCo
There are some client-banker relationships that are
just that – client-banker relationships. There are
others, however, that are true partnerships, like the
one that has evolved between Shepherd Center
and financial services institution BB&T.
Headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., BB&T
is one of the largest financial services holding
companies in the United States. Operating more
than 1,800 financial centers, the bank follows a
unique community-banking model, one that drives
both decision-making and community service
involvement down to the local level. Driven by
BB&T’s strong vision, mission and values, each
financial center, including those in Atlanta, prides
itself on developing high-touch, long-term client
relationships and on making the community in
which it operates stronger.
Thus, it is no surprise that, beyond serving as
one of Shepherd Center’s banking institutions,
BB&T has also become deeply involved with the
hospital in numerous other capacities. In supporting
Shepherd, members of the Corporate Banking
Group in Atlanta especially appreciate the Center’s
emphasis on self-reliance and independence.
“At BB&T, we talk often about independent
thinking and self-reliance,” says Jordan Kiel, vice
president of BB&T’s Corporate Banking Group in
Atlanta. “When we see how Shepherd Center is
teaching individuals with catastrophic injuries to
regain as much independence as possible, we at
BB&T really connect with that. Those values of selfreliance
and independence closely align with ours.”
In addition to sponsoring numerous Shepherd
Center events, including The Legendary Party, the
Shepherd Center Cup golf tournament and Derby
Day, BB&T has also supported other, more intimate
events. For example, BB&T recently hosted two
patient cookouts, which were held in the Shepherd
garden. For each cookout, BB&T supplied most of
the food donations, as well as volunteers to operate
the grill, serve food to patients and family members,
and take meal orders from patients who were
unable to come outside and enjoy the festivities.
A win-win for all, the cookouts provided patients
with a welcomed break from their rigorous therapy
sessions. Also, the events gave patients and
families the chance to enjoy time together outside,
and BB&T employees experienced an enriching
opportunity to interact with patients and families.
BB&T employees enjoyed the cookouts so much
that Jordan recently contacted Ansley Martin, major
gifts associate at the Shepherd Center Foundation,
and told her the bank would like to host an ice
cream social for patients and their families.
“We are thrilled to have BB&T’s continued support
of our patients,” Ansley says. “Like all sponsors and
donors of Shepherd Center, BB&T has a strong
desire to give back to its community. We are forever
grateful for BB&T’s efforts and passion.”
A member of Shepherd’s Pacesetter Society,
which recognizes donors whose cumulative
gifts are between $50,000 and $99,999, BB&T
also sponsored the Wheelchair Division of the
Peachtree Road Race this year. Volunteers from
the bank cheered on racers as they made their way
up “Cardiac Hill,” which runs in front of Shepherd
Center and Piedmont Hospital and is a steep and
particularly challenging section of the race. They
also helped provide hospitality to the wheelchair
racers, patients and family members at the postrace
brunch held at Shepherd Center.
In terms of developing personalized, long-term
relationships with its clients and strengthening
the community in which it serves, BB&T in Atlanta
has exceeded the company’s vision, mission and
values. And Shepherd Center greatly appreciates
the partnership that has developed.
“It’s always gratifying whenever people you
conduct business with want to give back,” says
Steve Holleman, chief financial officer at Shepherd
Center. “There is never that expectation, but we
appreciate it when those we work with develop
a passion for partnering with us in serving our
patients and families.” q
Volunteers from BB&t
help with serving
brunch to participants
in the Wheelchair
division of the
peachtree road race.
36 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 37

d
DONOR PROFILE
38 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Lewis and Faye
MAnDerson
Atlanta philanthropists create a legacy for Shepherd Center.
by raCheL FranCo
PhotoS BY garY MeeK
Andrew Carnegie once said, “You should spend the
first half of your life making money and the second half
of your life giving it away.” Judging by the professional
success and generous spirit of Shepherd Center
donors Lewis and Faye Manderson through the years,
one could say that the Mandersons have lived their
lives in a way that beautifully reflects the essence of
Carnegie’s message.
Lewis, originally from Cordova, Ala., and Faye,
originally from Chattanooga, Tenn., began their
life together in Tuscaloosa, Ala. After meeting
serendipitously in the parking lot of the office
building where they both worked, Lewis and Faye
started dating and later married. Going on 36 years
together, Lewis and Faye were very active in the
Tuscaloosa community before adopting Atlanta as
their home in 1983.
Now retired, Lewis enjoyed a successful
career. After running Creative Displays Inc., an
outdoor advertising company, for more than 20
years, Lewis sold the company and served as
president of Manderson and Associates Inc. He
then established the management firm, MGH
Management Inc., and later founded Cordova
Capital Inc., a venture capital fund.
While Lewis worked hard outside of the home,
Faye worked equally as hard inside the home by
raising their six children and volunteering for causes
such as Buckhead Christian Ministries and others.
Both Lewis and Faye agree that their children have
been their greatest success and have brought
them the most gratification, as has the feeling they
experience when giving back to their community.
“Helping others is one of the most gratifying
things you can do,” Lewis says. Faye agrees: “It’s
almost addictive when you start giving back. If
you are fortunate enough to be able to help other
people, you feel obligated to do so. It makes you
feel good in your heart, and helping people is fun.”
Lewis and Faye have had “fun” donating to many
wonderful causes. They include: The University of
Alabama’s graduate business school, which has
been named The Manderson Graduate School of
Business; the Druid City Hospital Cancer Center,
which has been named the Lewis and Faye
Manderson Cancer Center; and Shepherd Center, to
which they have recently made a significant bequest.
The Mandersons’ involvement with Shepherd
Center began in 1988 when friend and Atlanta
attorney David Flint called Lewis and asked him to
make a contribution to Shepherd. Lewis agreed,
and he and Faye, both impressed by the lifechanging
work that Shepherd does, have donated
annually to the Center ever since. Most notably, their
donations have supported the construction of the
locker rooms in the pool area and the renovation of
the Billi Marcus Building lobby.
It is their latest gift, however, that is the most
transformational, says Ty Tippett, senior director of
planned giving at the Shepherd Center Foundation.
Both Lewis and Faye have named Shepherd Center
in their estate plans and, in doing so, will enhance
“It’s almost addictive
when you start giving
back. If you are
fortunate enough to
be able to help other
people, you feel
obligated to do so. It
makes you feel good in
your heart, and helping
people is fun.”
Shepherd’s ability to expand its services and help
more patients recover and flourish after a spinal
cord or brain injury.
“As members of our Bridge Builders Society, Lewis
and Faye have made a transformative commitment
to leave a lasting legacy to the future generations of
patients and patient families who will benefit from the
high-quality research, medical care and rehabilitation
provided by Shepherd Center,” Ty says.
In recognition of Lewis and Faye’s planned estate
gifts, which are among the largest ever received by
the Center, Shepherd renamed the hospital’s main
driveway entrance “Manderson Way.” Shepherd also
commissioned the creation of two bronze busts of
Lewis and Faye that are permanently displayed in
the renovated Marcus Woodruff Pavilion entrance
lobby alongside those of Shepherd’s founders, two
medical directors and other major donors.
Honored by this recognition, Lewis and Faye
were thrilled to see the final bronze busts unveiled
during the dedication ceremony held at Shepherd
Center on June 15, 2012. Starting with drinks and
hors d’oeuvres on the terrace and continuing with
dinner and a program in the Callaway Auditorium,
the event was, as described by Lewis and Faye, “a
fabulous evening.” Many of the Mandersons’ family
and friends attended, as did numerous individuals
from Shepherd Center, including co-founders
Alana and Harold Shepherd, CEO Gary Ulicny,
Ph.D., and medical director Donald Peck Leslie,
M.D. Dr. Leslie, in addition to treating Lewis for
chronic back pain, has become close friends with
Lewis and Faye.
“Lewis and Faye just have a love for life and for
helping others,” Dr. Leslie says. “Sustaining the
innovative programs at Shepherd Center requires
a lot of money, and Lewis and Faye have been
so generous with their time and their financial
resources. It’s what makes my life absolutely
charmed to be able to work at Shepherd.” q
shepherd center
medical director
donald p. leslie,
m.d., left, unveils
bronze busts of donors
faye and lewis
manderson (pictured
at left and above).
Story and more photos online at
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 39

40 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
A one-of-a-Kind Approach to
Multiple sclerosis
Shepherd’s new integrated wellness program for MS patients is unparalleled.
by Sara baxter
The virtues of exercise are widely known and well documented. But for
people with multiple sclerosis, these virtues were at one time cloaked in
a peculiar warning – physical activity can cause more harm than good.
Research has since reversed that thinking, and medical professional
now know that people with MS stand to benefit greatly from exercise.
Physical activity not only provides relief from symptoms of the disease,
it can also help stave off future complications.
PhotoS BY leita CoWart and garY MeeK
That’s one reason Shepherd Center opened the
Eula C. and Andrew C. Carlos MS Rehabilitation and
Wellness Program. Launched July 1 and funded
primarily through a grant from Elaine and John Carlos
and Eula C. Carlos, the program is the first in the
nation to integrate all aspects of wellness – fitness,
nutrition and education – into a single approach
tailored specifically for people with MS.
“I have benefitted firsthand from the great
resources and expertise available at Shepherd
Center,” John Carlos says. “Through this grant,
more people living with MS will improve their
quality of life and hopefully improve their resilience
after an exacerbation. They will benefit from the
comprehensive approach and vision of the Center
and its clinicians.” The grant is also funding two new
positions – an exercise specialist and a dedicated,
Ph.D.-level researcher.
Shepherd patients with multiple sclerosis have
always had an opportunity to be physically active
through the Center’s ProMotion Fitness Center.
But the Center recognized that a more holistic and
individualized approach would strengthen the caliber
of care for Shepherd’s MS patients.
“We wanted to give these patients everything
in one place – skilled therapy, community-based
exercise, education and emotional support,” says
Shepherd Center MS Institute therapy manager Chris
Manella. “We also felt strongly our offerings should
be research based and take into account feedback
from the MS patients themselves.” Manella adds that
Shepherd has been conducting focus groups to get
input from people with MS to develop the program.
“I think it’s a great idea,” says Richard Colby, 69,
who has been coming to Shepherd Center for physical
therapy and exercise to help with MS for the past
six months. When he heard about the new wellness
program, he quickly signed up. “I like the fact that
everything is customized for those of us with MS.”
Blake Burdett, an exercise physiologist who has
been involved with Shepherd’s Beyond Therapy ®
program, is serving as the new program’s exercise
specialist. In this role, he will conduct fitness
assessments on members every six months and be
available to teach fitness classes and conduct oneon-one
sessions for people with MS.
The four-hour assessments, conducted over two
days, gauge resting metabolic rates, test upperbody
strength and coordination, and measure other
facets of functionality and fitness. Participants will be
evaluated every six months to track their progress.
“It is exciting that we are offering fitness
assessments,” Burdett says. “They will keep clients
focused on their goals. We want to show them the
importance of staying active, and that exercise can
make a real difference. It will be more motivating
when they can see their progress over six months.”
Membership in the Wellness Program includes
a full gym membership at Shepherd’s ProMotion
Fitness Center. In addition to having access to the
gym and exercise classes offered through ProMotion,
program participants can take specialized classes in
cardiovascular exercise, core conditioning and lowerextremity
strength.
The key word is specialized. “For example,
people with MS get overheated more easily,” Burdett
explains, “so we’ll make sure we have fans and ice
vests in the classes to make it more comfortable
and safer for them to exercise. We can also pace
the class differently to meet their needs.” Small class
sizes – some with as few as five participants – will
enable him to monitor each participant more closely.
And that’s appealing to people like Richard Colby.
“MS is a strange disease,” he says. “No two people
are the same, so even if you’re in a class where
everyone has MS, you may not be able to do the
same exercise. Blake understands that.”
A class regular, Colby says that knowing he has
someplace to be at 11 a.m. three times each week
keeps him motivated. “It’s easy to get apathetic and
not want to go anywhere,” he says. “Knowing that
I’ve paid for classes and people are expecting to see
me gets me out of the house.”
In addition to exercise, the Wellness Program
will offer MS-specific education classes on a wide
range of topics, including medication management,
nutrition and alternative therapies.
“MS is a lifelong health condition that tends to
affect quality of life more than quantity of life,” says
Ben Thrower, M.D., medical director of the MS
Institute. “A comprehensive approach, including a
focus on both physical and emotional wellness, is
most likely to result in improved quality of life.”
Research is another important aspect of the new
wellness program. “Up until this point, most of the
MS research done at Shepherd has centered around
drug trials,” says Debbie Backus, PT, Ph.D., the new
director of research for the MS Institute. “Now, we
will be looking at the different types of exercise that
can be beneficial, ways to deliver those exercises
and how it impacts the disease itself. The research
and clinical arms of the MS Institute will be further
strengthened because clinical needs will inform the
research agenda.”
John Carolos adds: “It’s my hope that through
this research, Shepherd Center can continue to
positively impact the lives of people with MS. The
most important thing we have is hope, and through
this program and the work of Dr. Ben Thrower and
his team, we are able to make great strides in the
care and treatment options available.“ q
Blake Burdett, an
exercise physiologist
in shepherd center’s
new eula c. and
andrew c. carlos ms
rehabilitation and
Wellness program,
conducts fitness
assessments on
members every six
months, teaches
fitness classes and
conducts one-onone
sessions for
people with ms.
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 41

Beyond BBQ
Chair Rhiana
Pfaff, second from
right, mingles
with guests, left
to right, Paul and
Ashley Sidoti,
singer Gary Ray,
and Hillary Baker.
Photo BY Brian tiPton
Nashville’s chapter of Shepherd Center Society
(SCS-NASH) hosted Beyond Barbecue, an
awareness and fundraising event for Shepherd
Center’s Beyond Therapy ® program in Franklin,
Tenn. The Sept. 8 food and music extravaganza
drew together SCS members, Beyond Therapy ®
patients, staff and donors with members of the
community to have a great time while helping
raise scholarship funds for Tennessee patients.
Al and Sylvia Ganier hosted the event on their
beautiful Hidden Valley Farm. The evening began
Beyond Barbecue
committee
rhiana Pfaff, Chair
Committee Members
richard Chambers
Shauna Collins
Peggy & dick
Fitzgerald
andrew Kintz
janet leese
donna richardson
gabe Shrum
scs-nashVille’s Beyond BarBecue raises scholarships
and aWareness for Beyond therapy ®
thanks to our
sponsors and
partners
PreSenting
the Charlie and
Moll anderson
Family Foundation
Silver
raven tools
PatronS
Mr. & Mrs. richard
Chambers
by Dean MeLCher
nan & neil Parrish
Peggy & dick
Fitzgerald
donna & Bill
richardson
PartnerS
greendoor gourmet
Cobbie’s Barbecue
Sauce
BMi
Springer Mountain
Farms
Perdue Poultry
107.5 the river
with a VIP reception in the Ganiers’ fabulous
home for Beyond Barbecue sponsors. The
festivities continued at the Ganiers’ GreenDoor
Gourmet in their newly built, rough-hewn
oak “barn,” which will be used as an upscale
event venue for parties and weddings.
Ashlee Foxx of 107.5 The River served as emcee
and introduced performances by singer/songwriters
Nick Malloy, Trent Jeffcoat and Gary Ray (Nick
and Trent are Shepherd Center alumni). Popular
Nashville band Sixwire closed the show with two
sets of great music that filled the dance floor.
Throughout the evening, guests enjoyed delicious
barbecue – featuring Cobbie’s Sauce – prepared
by nationally acclaimed barbecue artist Arlee
Bragg. Partiers cooled down with wine and craft
beers donated by Lipman Bros. and ice-cold
spring water from Springer Mountain Farms.
Beyond Barbecue Chair Rhiana Pfaff and
her committee and volunteers worked diligently
for months planning and implementing
this inaugural fundraising event.
To learn more, visit SCS-NASH.com or contact
Beyond Therapy ® Marketing and Development
Manager Shauna Collins at 615-656-4656
or shauna_collins@shepherd.org. q
WSix
WtvF
loews vanderbilt Plaza
lipman Bros.
Music imprints
Classic Party rentals
special thanks to:
al and Sylvia ganier
Sixwire
gary ray
trent jeffcoat
nick Malloy
gabe Shrum
jeff hooper,
Chick-fil-a
Zac Forbes
Miel
towne Park
Brantley Sound
arlie Bragg
Fresh design
nate robinson
helping hands
grace Cummings
Brian tipton
the Majestic
Photo Booth
d & d events
5. 6.
memBership in shepherd center society-nashVille
to borrow a phrase from american express, membership
in Shepherd Center Society-nashville (SCS) has
its privileges. With annual membership dues at
$75 per person and $150 per couple, members
receive a host of special benefits, including:
Make new friends and reconnect with old ones. through
seasonal events and monthly mixers at different venues
around town, young professionals get to network and
socialize over delicious food and drinks. (Membership
dues cover free admission to monthly happy hours/socials
and discounted admission to select seasonal events.)
receive special discounts from the hottest venues.
Show your membership card and receive special offers
and discounts from SCS-nashville partners, which
1. 2.
3. 4.
range from restaurants to bars to sports and workout
facilities, and more. the society’s growing list of partners
includes dan Mcguinness Pub (nashville and Cool
Springs), Margaritaville (nashville), Cabana nashville,
d1 Sports (Cool Springs) and losers 2 (Cool Springs).
have fun while doing good. While networking and
socializing with fellow members (and guests at a
discounted rate), members raise much-needed funds
that enable patients with limited financial resources to
receive treatment at Beyond therapy ® in Franklin, tenn.
to learn more and to join SCS-nashville, visit:
shepherdcentersociety.com/nashville. and to schedule an
individual or group tour of the Beyond therapy®-tennessee
facility, contact Shauna Collins at 615-656-3934 or
shauna _ collins@shepherd.org. q rachel franco
PhotoS BY Brian tiPton
Beyond BBQ
attendees
included, left to
right: 1. Scott
Massey, Sylvia
Ganier, Ryan and
Bonnie Hardage,
and Betty and
the late Billy
Hulse, owners of
Cobbie’s Sauce. 2.
Beyond Therapy ® -
Tennessee staff
members Nate
Robinson, Andrew
Kurek, Teriq Perry,
Cindy Ryals, Scott
Hawes and Jenna
Briggs. 3. Nan
and Neil Parrish,
Boone Marable,
and the Hardages.
4. Sixwire singer
Andy Childs and
Susie Bowman. 5.
Shepherd VP of
Clinical Services
Sarah Morrison,
and Dick and
Peggy Fitzgerald.
6. Singer/
songwriter Nick
Malloy, event host
Ashlee Foxx and
Tim Patterson.
42 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Summer 2012 • 43

1. former patient don
steinfeldt, center, and
his family enjoy the
reunion. 2. former
patient ify nonyelu
and his family visit
with medical director
donald p. leslie, m.d.
3. guests watch Brian
shaffer demonstrate
a powered orthosis
developed by
Vanderbilt university
researchers and
tested at shepherd
center. 4. former
patient stephanie
Beard, center, visits
with Vanderbilt
chief of trauma
and surgical critical
care richard
miller, m.d.
44 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
nashville reunion Draws Former
Patients and Local Medical staff
Shepherd Center held a reunion for former patients
living in the Nashville, Tenn., area in July, giving
Shepherd staff members an opportunity to honor the
hospital’s alums for their hard work, determination
and successful return to their communities.
The event – hosted by the Shepherd Center
Marketing and Public Relations Department –
drew about 150 people to the Loews Vanderbilt
Hotel. Guests included former patients and
their family and friends, as well as local medical
professionals from Vanderbilt University Medical
Center’s trauma care team, Select Specialty
Hospital Nashville and Shepherd Center’s Beyond
Therapy ® -Tennessee facility in Franklin, Tenn.
Former patients, both those who were recently
discharged and some from more than 10 years
ago, traveled from throughout Tennessee and
beyond to attend the event.
Among them were two military service members
– U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. First Class Tom
Boone, who is stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., and
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Charles Wesson, who
is stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. Both sustained
1. 2.
3.
spinal cord injuries in separate, stateside
accidents in 2010 and 2012, respectively. They
received trauma care at Vanderbilt and underwent
rehabilitation at Shepherd Center.
Speaking at the event were Shepherd Center
Medical Director Donald Peck Leslie, M.D.;
Shepherd Center vice president of clinical services
Sarah Morrison, PT; Vanderbilt Chief of Trauma
and Surgical Critical Care Richard Miller, M.D.;
and Susan Sutton, director of Vanderbilt’s Trauma
Survivors Network. Dr. Miller praised the work
of Shepherd Center staff and congratulated the
former patients in the room for their determination
and hard work.
A highlight of the event was a demonstration of
an exoskeleton robotic assisted walking device
developed by Professor Michael Goldfarb, Ph.D.,
of Vanderbilt University. He is testing the device
in collaboration with Shepherd Center. Former
patient Brian Shaffer of Summertown, Tenn.,
tested the exoskeleton with assistant from Scott
Hawes, program director of Beyond Therapy ® -
Tennessee. q Jane m. sanders
4.
PhotoS BY terrY WYatt
PhotoS BY Caroline harrell
THE TAILGATE
Football fans gather
for a good time
for a great cause.
Football season has officially started, and
Shepherd Center Society and the Junior
Committee made sure it was celebrated in style!
The two groups collaborated in organizing The
Tailgate, a college football party fundraiser.
For the second year in a row, The Tailgate was
an incredible success, attracting close to 1,000
people. Chairs Taylor and Michael Butkus and
William Stallworth took last year’s prototype,
made some great additions and presented an
even bigger, better event that had everyone
talking.
The Tailgate was held Labor Day weekend on
Saturday, Sept. 1, from noon until 7 p.m. in the
parking lot across the street from the Georgia
Dome. The game at the Dome that day was
Auburn vs. Clemson, and Tailgate patrons enjoyed
gourmet food trucks, an open bar, live music and
TVs for game watching.
West Water Outlaws started the day off right
with great music, continued by the Reid Stripling
Band and followed by the highly anticipated
finale presented by The Last Waltz. Multiple bars
provided drinks, and the food truck vendors
made sure no one went hungry. q florina newcomb
food trucks
thanks to our food truck partners
that provided food to the tailgate fans!
yumbii
tastee truck
sweet auburn BBQ
metro city dogs
1.
2.
3.
1. tailgate guests, left
to right, John harrell,
Jason armes, taylor
Butkus, hilary kidd and
Zachry young gather to
kickoff football season.
2. a group of auburn
fans enjoy the
festivities at the
tailgate before the
big game.
3. left to right, sydney
murphy, kristina
schatz, ellen Watson,
mary Beth Watson and
Jenny rikelman sport
the auburn colors.
thanks to our tailgate sponsors
Choate Construction Company – heisman Sponsor
alcohol heroes – game day Sponsor
Beard Shuford Financial group – Bowl game Sponsor
rural Metro ambulance, georgia – Bowl game Sponsor
Martin robbins Fence Company – Bowl game Sponsor
the Butkus Family with jP Morgan Chase – touchdown Sponsor
Bank of north georgia – touchdown Sponsor
the Five Paces inn – Field goal Sponsor
Waste Management – Field goal Sponsor
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 45

Summer in the City 2012 Draws Large
Crowd to Enjoy Atlanta’s Delicious Food and Fine Wines
Photo BY xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx
Shepherd Center Society’s Summer in The City
2012 was a spectacular success, treating guests to
a beautiful setting at the Greystone Conservancy
at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, delicious food from
some of Atlanta’s most exciting restaurants and
22 wine selections provided by National
Distributing Company.
Held on July 18, 2012, more than 500 people
sipped fine wines, sampled delicious dishes and
bid on marvelous items in a silent auction. On
the veranda, guests listened to live music while
captivated by mixologists who made the sort of
drinks that seem complicated, yet refreshing on
a muggy summer night. It was a fun evening, a
perfect way to break up the monotony of the
workweek and a great way to meet with friends.
Summer in the City is organized by Shepherd
Center Society (SCS), a fundraising volunteer
group that supports Shepherd Center and serves
as advocates for the hospital. National Distributing
Co.’s Mitch Kerpoe recruited the chefs, solicited
wine and spirit donations, and managed the event
logistics, while Co-Chairmen Kelley Anne Smaha
and Sai Reddy and the planning committee
solicited auction items and sponsorships.
The clinking of wine glasses, the laughter of
beautifully dressed guests and the excitement of
the silent auction made Summer in the City yet
another successful Shepherd Center event.
Summer in the City
2012 Committee
Co-Chairs
Kelley Anne Smaha
Sai Reddy
Committee
Lauren Barnett
Johanna Barnes
Adam Bell
Paige Booker
DuVall Brumby
Gena Bryant
McQueen Calvert
Alex Deitch
Svea Hall
Caroline Harrell
Ashley Johnston
Mitch Kerpoe
Courtney Lundeen
Kirk Martin
Reagan Michaelis
Brandie Miner
Michelle Nichols
Kato Nims
Henley Odom
Mary Richardson
Shannon Rucks
Jamie Shepherd
Wes Snap
Todd Stone
Taylor Weitz
Olivia Willis
Summer in the City 2012 Sponsors
Sommelier
Brand Fever
National Distributing
Company
Double Magnum
The Color Spot, Inc.
Springer Mountain Farms
Magnum
A Legendary Event
BMack Art
Jessica and Justin Jones
Philips Arena
Mary Richardson
Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold
Shepherd
Southwire
Standard
Dr. Rives and Beth Cary
Equifax Foundation
E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc.
Mitch Kerpoe
Special Thanks to Summer in the City
Featured Restaurants:
Aria – Chef Gerry Klaskala: Chicken
drummetts braised in a black peppercorn
caramel sauce
Bistro Niko – Chef Gary Donlick: Shrimp
wrapped in thin phyllo
Café Intermezzo: A variety of fabulous
desserts
Coast – Chef Quentin Donnaud: Oyster
buttermilk shooter and Creole shrimp with
heirloom tomato salad
Davio’s – Sous Chef Carlos Tavarez:
Gnocchi in Bolognese sauce
Illy Espresso: Espressos to order
Kevin Rathbun Steak – Chef Kevin Rathbun:
His grandmother’s fried chicken in a spicy
honey sauce
Petite Auberge – Chef Michael Gropp:
Variety of delicious passed appetizers for the
VIP reception
Seed – Chef Doug Turbush: Seared tuna on
a faro and roasted corn salad
The Shed at Glenwood – Chef Lance
Gummere: Tri-color beet salad with
goat cheese
Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft – Chef Dee Dee
Niyomkul: A creamy coconut chicken curry
Batchelor and Kimball
Ms. Mary Beth Lester
Michal Evans Floral Design
Kelley Anne Smaha
Amy Lee Story
Albie Whitaker
Lee Zell
Glass
Elizabeth and Carl Allen
Ruth and Tom Anthony
Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP
Aycock Properties
B.D. Jeffries
Caring for Causes
Dermatology Affiliates
William L. Dobes of
Dermatology Consultants,
P.C.
Four Seasons Hotel
GLOW Mobile Airbrush
Tanning
Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey P. Hall
Healthcare Georgia
Foundation
William and Angie Hoyt
Miller Jackson
John and Sherry Lundeen
One on One Matchmaking
PH Wine Merchants
Rosewood Hotel Georgia
Jamie and Sarah Shepherd
Valerie and Scott Sikes
Mrs. J. Lucian Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Smith
The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead
Mr. and Mrs. James D.
Thompson
June and John Weitnauer
Anne and Andrew Worrell
summer in the city
2012 guests enjoy fine
wines and delicious,
chef-prepared
foods. guests also
peruse items at the
silent auction.
46 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 47

seated left to right:
cindy Voyles, patron
co-chair, lisa fuller,
fundraising cochair.
standing left
to right: Bill Voyles,
patron co-chair, kay
Quigley, legendary
party chairman, karen
spiegel, legendary
party chairmanelect,
faye and lewis
manderson and donald
peck leslie, m.d.,
honorary chairmen.
48 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org
The Legendary Party 2012 to showcase “American splendor”
the legendary Party is always an evening to remember, but
this year’s american Splendor-themed event – scheduled for
nov. 3 – promises to be even more spectacular. Past legendary
Parties have taken guests on a whirlwind adventure – around
the World, versailles, london and many more exotic places.
this year’s legendary Chair, Kay Quigley, will bring the
Party and our attention back home. american Splendor is
set to remind us of the beauty and magnificence of our
country, the importance and bravery of those who defend
it and the strength of the people that truly inspire us.
nowhere is it more evident than in the generosity of the
sponsors and donors who support Shepherd Center and
the patient programs it provides for people with spinal cord
or brain injuries, and those with multiple sclerosis. out
of Shepherd’s 23 programs, this year’s legendary Party
will highlight the Share Military initiative, a continuum
of rehabilitation care for military service members who
have sustained a traumatic brain injury while serving the
united States on active duty in iraq or afghanistan.
american Splendor will delight all of the guests with a
beautiful setting created by tony Conway’s a legendary
event. the red, white and blue – colors that have been
ingrained in our country’s history – will be elegantly displayed
throughout the newly renovated ritz-Carlton, Buckhead
ballroom. a state dinner is planned and will be prepared
by recently appointed executive Chef Franck Steigerwald.
this year’s honorary Chairmen are lewis and Faye
Manderson and Shepherd Center Medical director donald
Peck leslie, M.d. the Mandersons have been supporters of
Shepherd Center for many years, and dr. leslie began his
career at Shepherd Center in 1983 and has been medical
director since 2005. Chairman Kay Quigley, Chairman-elect
Karen Spiegel and the legendary Party Committee have
been working hard fundraising and planning for the event.
the legendary Party 2012 will be held on Saturday, nov. 3,
at the ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. tickets and sponsorships for the
event may be purchased online at thelegendaryparty.com.
For more information, please visit the website or contact
annual events manager Florina newcomb at 404-350-7302
or florina _ newcomb@shepherd.org. q florina newcomb
Photo BY garY MeeK
Planning Under Way for Derby Day 2013
Shepherd Center’s Derby Day celebrated its
30th year in style in May. The event’s $85,500
in net proceeds supported Shepherd Center’s
Therapeutic Recreation (TR) Program.
Now, Co-Chairs Catherine Skeen and Wesley
Snapp are already hard at work planning for next
year’s Derby Day. Mark your calendars for May
4, 2013!
The first meeting of the 2012-13 Junior
Committee was held on Wednesday, Sept.12.
Members enjoyed a reception before the meeting,
which gave members the opportunity to mix
and mingle.
Once the meeting started, Shepherd Center
TR therapist Drew Bogenschutz welcomed the
crowd and spoke on behalf of Shepherd’s TR
Department. Drew explained the importance of TR
as part of rehabilitation at Shepherd. Afterwards,
Junior Committee members were excited to
start planning with a better understanding of the
program for which they are raising money.
Following Drew’s talk, last year’s co-chairs,
Shannon Hinson and Trey Weatherly, were
presented with photo collages from Derby Day
2012 as a token of appreciation for their hard work
and dedication. After the special presentation, the
committee members discussed their plans for
sponsorship, an auction and ideas to make the
2013 event the best Derby Day to date.
The Junior Committee will be accepting new
members until Dec. 30, 2012. Meetings are held
each month with the exception of December, when
the committee holds its annual holiday party.
shepherd Center Auxiliary
Announces Pecans Fundraiser
For more information on joining the Junior
Committee or sponsoring Derby Day, please
contact Cara Puckett at 404-350-7778 or
cara_puckett@shepherd.org. q Cara puckett
2012-2013 executive Board
derby day Co-Chairs: catherine skeen and Wesley snapp
Sponsorship Co-Chairs: claire Bovat and Joe mays
auction Co-Chairs: tricia clineburg and allison dick
Membership Co-Chairs: Joe Bricker and suzanne pickens
Beverage Co-Chairs: duVall Brumby and rob hefley
Food Chairs: Jackie gibson and matt moore
operations Committee: adam diamond, chris forenza and todd lindsey
Shepherd Center Staff: cara puckett
The Shepherd Center Auxiliary’s annual holiday
fundraiser, Pecans on Peachtree, runs from Nov. 7 to
Dec. 24. This is the 29th year for the fundraiser, which
has raised more than $1.4 million for patient-related
programs and Auxiliary operations since 1982.
All of the fundraiser’s delicious pecan and nut
varieties will be available again this year online at
www.pecansonpeachtree.org or at the Center.
Selections this year include a larger tin of the
Holiday Trio, which was the best seller last year.
Back by popular demand is the Customers’
Favorite tin filled with chocolate-covered pecans
and golden roasted and lightly salted pecans.
The Auxiliary is busy signing up volunteers to
work the sales tables inside Shepherd Center from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and to host “Pecan
Parties” in their homes or businesses. If you would
like to volunteer, receive a brochure or place an
order, call 404-367-1322 or go to
www.pecansonpeachtree.org. q midge tracy
Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 49

h 1.
HONORARIUMS
Honorees are listed first in bold print followed by the
names of those making gifts in their honor. This list
reflects gifts made to Shepherd Center between
May 1, 2012 and July 31, 2012.
dr. Fahed Abu-Akel’s retirement
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenberg
dr. david F. Apple, Jr.
Cousins Foundation, Inc.
dr. and mrs. david Apple
Mr. William S. Murphy, Jr.
brad Arms
Mr. Paul Aglialoro
dr. Joe Arnold’s retirement
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenberg
Amanda b. bachelor
Dr. and Mrs. Robert L. Barnes III
Mr. and Mrs. Vincent D. Cater
deborah backus – “congratulations on
director of ms research!”
Dr. David F. Apple, Jr.
danielle barber
Mrs. Yael Mohan
elizabeth l. bell’s bat mitzvah
Ms. Gwenn Holland
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Isenberg
lisa bendetti’s race Across
America with Team shepherd
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bendetti
marla J. bennett’s birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Bennett
eleanor bernhardt’s birthday
Judge Phyllis Kravitch
Mrs. Bettty G. Karp
Ms. Evie P. Wolfe
marvin bone
Mr. Mark T. Bowers
deann bosiljevac
Ms. Jane Martin
greg brakel
Mr. Horst Brakel
Peter brookner
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Brookner
carolyn and ron buice
Mr. and Mrs. William K. McDaniel
Tim carder
Mr. and Mrs. Donald L. Wilkie
george carros
Mr. John L. Taylor
Thomas chandler
Mrs. Theodosia C. Moore
Jeannie cheung
Mr. John Nicklos
katie choate
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Boudoucies
Anne clendenin
Mrs. John R. Poer
Almeda cooper
Mrs. Anne Haltiwanger
Joy culbreth’s birthday
Mr. Eugene S. Asher
staff sgt. Ari cullers
Mr. Jeffrey Holmes
lTc brent cummings
Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Yellowlees
kacie darden
Ms. Maura Brand
Mr. Jeff Caplan
William J. Grist, M.D.
Mr. and Mrs. David Wetty
claire P. derr
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Derr
Anne donahoo
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence S. Donahoo, Jr.
harriet draluck’s recovery
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Draluck
scott elliott
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald H. Elliott
Frank Findley
Ms. Jane S. Greenberger and
Mr. P. Douglas Wexler
Fourth Floor staff at shepherd
center – “Awesome crew”
Ms. Lillian R. Shirley
michael Flynn
Mrs. Theodosia C. Moore
destiny Foltz
Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Foltz
chico garcia
Give With Liberty Employee
Donations
mark gernazian
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Mackey
noelle gibson
Ms. Jane Martin
matthew P. godwin
Ms. Patricia Godwin
stephen b. goot
Dr. and Mrs. J. Rhodes Haverty
stephen goot – 11Alive
community service Award
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Koenig
dr. chenault w. hailey’s
85th birthday
Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Shepherd
Jami hanzman
Mr. Benjamin S. Stein
Mr. Michael Wall
noah harris
Mr. Paul Aglialoro
Tim haskew’s race Across
America with Team shepherd
Ms. Delta Booker
Mr. T. Coile
Madame Virginia Pantano
caroline g. hazel’s birthday
Ms. Karen A. Moschetto
david herrington, Jr.
Mr. R. G. Edwards
douglas J. hertz
Dr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Fishman
minna hong
Mr. Barry A. Gallas
James howard
Ms. Nancy E. Wellons
bart hudson
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory A. Dunn
betty and billy hulse
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Armfield, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Everette L. Doffermyre, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Holder, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Inman II
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Moore
Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Payne, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Weller, Jr.
b. henderson Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Johnson, Jr.
colin Johnson
Ms. Michelle Warren-Johnson
lisa and John king
Mrs. Elizabeth A. King
dylan kinion
Ms. Mary McEneaney
nathan klein
Mrs. Gloria B. Klein
Phyllis kravitch’s birthday
Mrs. Bernice K. Mazo
deborah g. krotenberg
Mr. and Mrs. Neil H. Novick
Mr. Stephen A. Zipris
mary kyle
Mrs. Elliott Kyle
Jason langdon
Mrs. Anita Langdon
edward leatherman’s 21st birthday
Castle Builders of Miami, Inc.
Ross and Associates, Inc.
Mr. Stefan H. Zachar III
robert leggiero
Dr. Elie Kobrin
Mr. and Mrs. Butch Sergiano
Mr. Leonard Stanmore
dr. donald P. leslie
Mr. and Mrs. Philip S. Beeson, Sr.
dr. John l. lin
Mr. and Mrs. Steven H. Dowlen
benjamin r. lippincott
Mr. Thomas B. Slick
charlie loudermilk’s birthday
Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Shepherd
Thomas loupe’s recovery
Mrs. Amanda Silvey
maureen macdonald
Mr. and Mrs. Leo A. Sanchez
nick malloy
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas K. Alston
Faye and lewis m. manderson
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. McGinnis
billi marcus
Ms. Dore Pollock
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Kalish
matthew marcus
Mr. Robert I. Marcus
Anita marino
Dr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Fishman
ben masters
Mr. and Mrs. Jon D. Jeffries
Mr. and Mrs. William McLean
david masters
Mr. and Mrs. Jon D. Jeffries
bernice k. mazo’s birthday
Judge Phyllis Kravitch
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lipton
Dr. Karen Sumers and Mr. Jeffry Finkel
shari mcdowell – “congratulations
on your promotion!”
Ms. Cherie L. Kunik
maureen mcgee
Captain Sean McGee
mr. and mrs. david mcPherson
Mr. Richard P. Smith
evelyn d. mims
Mr. Jeremy Anderson
bill mulligan
Ms. Denise Miller
donna m. neff
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Neff
katie nettles
Ms. Jane Martin
Jordan normann
Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Maness
sally d. nunnally’s birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Griffin B. Bell, Jr.
lance o’cull
Mr. and Mrs. John D. O’Cull
chris owens
Mr. and Mrs. Jerold Lynch
kacey Patterson
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Besal
Ms. Lorraine Wais
Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Zerylnick
eugene l. Pearce –
“happy Fathers day!”
Ms. Elizabeth R. Pearce
Mr. and Mrs. Haygood P. Seawell, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew P. Worrell
kenneth Phillips
Mr. Jerome Robinson
ryan redner
Mr. James G. Coyle
Ms. Marthalee F. Esoda
cody reyes
Mr. Ronald R. Reyes
shirley s. rich’s birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Victor L. Cohen
debbie rigsby
Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Peller
debra rogers
Reba’s Hair Fashions
dwayne sanders
Mrs. Betty Sanders
mark m. sandifer
Mr. James A. Curtis
Thomas r. sessions
Mr. and Mrs. Henry T. Sessions, Jr.
leslie shapiro
Mrs. Gloria Shapiro
Alana shepherd
Mr. and Mrs. Francis H. Root
Alana shepherd’s birthday
Ms. Mary Bickers – Bickers
Consulting Group, LLC
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
eloise F. shepherd’s birthday
Ms. Mary B. Bickers
linda shepherd
Mr. and Mrs. Francis H. Root
rebecca s. shepherd’s birthday
Ms. Mary Bickers – Bickers
Consulting Group, LLC
natalie shinn’s recovery
Mr. Gregg Shinn
Ms. Sally Shinn
Jay shue
Ms. Patricia M. Shue
steven J. siegler
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Koivu
sigma nu of georgia southern’s
Fundraising efforts for shAre
military Patients
Mr. James R. Carter, Jr.
Franklin GM
Ms. Jane M. Hilley
Ms. Marilyn Jeans
Ms. Nancy J. Jordan
Mrs. Leigh W. Kelly
Mr. Kirk Knous
Peoples Loan and Finance Corp.
Mrs. Leslie Schulte
Thigpen Lanier Westerfield and Deal
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Wadsworth
Joel e. simmons for the memory
of debbie mcspadden
Ms. Evelyn V. Albright
Mr. and Mrs. Guy E. Baker
Ms. Janet E. Hutsell
Ms. Dixie D. Powers
Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Roby, Jr.
The Swift Museum Foundation, Inc.
bradlee and kelley simoneaux
Mr. and Mrs. Bradly J. Atkin
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Fullmer
kelley simoneaux
Mrs. Amanda Silvey
david w. smith
Mrs. Sarah Marie Huban
glenn smith
Mrs. Theodosia C. Moore
Thomas sowell
Ms. Kristi Fuqua
stewart sneed hewes
Chubb
neil swenson
Ms. Anne H. Swenson
Tom Tanner
Mr. and Mrs. Joe G. Tuggle
kristie Tant
Mr. and Mrs. David Allen
meg Throckmorton’s recovery
Ms. Carolyn Augustine
Mrs. Lisa Kreuzer
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert R. Thompson
dr. Abraham s. Velkoff’s birthday
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenberg
davis wallace
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Godwin
betty and Jesse warren
Infectious Diseases Specialists
of Virginia, LLC
carrie F. whitney
Mrs. Rebecca S. Flagler
Jane woodruff – “with great
affection and admiration”
Mr. and Mrs. Charles N. D’Huyvetter
3.
Anita woody
Ms. Bennette Womack
Jacob wooley
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Wooley
mason Zimmerman and Team
shepherd’s race
Across America
Mr. Steven Barton
Mr. John Kirkpatrick Billings
Mr. Michael L. Bray
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Burch, Jr.
Ms. Tracy S. Cone
Mr. John Crawford
Mr. and Mrs. Chris J. Dardaman, Jr.
Ernest Communications, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Gauthreaux
Mr. David Greene
Mrs. Lanie Hoover
J. Lynn Rainey, P.C.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence P. Kelly
Ms. Nancy Kelly
Mr. Aaron J. Land III
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Land, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas R. Lindauer
Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Morgan
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ott
Ms. Shelley Zimmerman
1.
2.
many wheelchair
athletes, including
some from shepherd
center, participated in
a wheelchair lacrosse
clinic and exhibition
organized by holy
innocents episcopal
school student sam
fallon. 2. the 2012
uga game Ball relay
fundraiser benefited
shepherd center. 3.
former patient doug
Worful of roswell,
ga., paddles down
the nantahala river
in north carolina
accompanied
by friends.
50 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 51

m 1.,
MEMORIALS
Deceased friends of Shepherd Center are listed first in
bold print followed by the names of those making gifts in
their memory. This list reflects gifts made to Shepherd
Center between May 1, 2012 and July 31, 2012.
karl michael Anschutz
Mr. and Mrs. Werner Anschutz
Mrs. Roberta Gorham
Mr. and Mrs. Dale L. Hardy
laura A. Anschutz
Mr. and Mrs. Werner Anschutz
Mrs. Roberta Gorham
Mr. and Mrs. Dale L. Hardy
Toni J. baker
Regional Dance America/Northeast
larry dean beck
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry R. Overfelt
glenda m. bedell
Mr. Mark BeDell
muriel boyko
Mr. Dave Boyko
A. worley brown
Mrs. Lou B. Jewell
John charles “Jack” busbin
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
Mr. William A. Dupre IV
Mrs. Harriett H. Gallion
Ms. Norma Garner
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gibson
Mrs. Seth L. Knight
Ms. Anna C. Lucas
Captain Charles Maynard
Mrs. Sandra M. Mion
Dr. and Mrs. Harlan M. Starr
Mr. Walter K. Vollberg
Ms. Nancy Woodis
Tom camp
Mr. Edward Katz
emile caron
Ms. Lillie Ley
sgt. steven checo, 82nd Airborne
Mr. and Mrs. David Reed
marie chriscoe
Mrs. Henry C. Faust, Jr.
grace goldsmith cox
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
larry croup
Mr. Waynon Johnson
betty danneman
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenberg
Paul l. dillingham
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
mark english
Ms. Ann R. Fairey
Ms. Betty G. Hawsey
Mr. and Mrs. Gene C. Hubbard
Mr. and Mrs. Billy J. Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Polatty
Mr. and Mrs. Jack A. Poole
Ms. Frankie Rickenbaker
Mr. and Mrs. Llewellyn Sharpe
Ms. Annie M. Stodghill
Mr. and Mrs. Bobby L. Wade
r. mark english
Ms. Tara Koppel
Ms. Marilyn Loo
Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Moses
Mrs. Jean L. Robertson
Mr. and Mrs. Nathan A. Wallace
katherine c. evans
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Evans III
Angelo T. Fabrizio
Mr. James Palermo
donovan Faulk
Ms. Betty A. Smith
A.J. Fisher
Mrs. Joan Woodall
dave garrett
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
william “billy” george
Mr. and Mrs. Edward B. Addison
Mr. and Mrs. John G. Alston, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Bridges, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Norris A. Broyles, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Coleman Budd
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Sammy Caves
Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Crawley
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Delcourt
Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Denny, Jr.
Mrs. Matilda Dobbs
Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Elting
Mr. Randy Evans
Mrs. Dakin B. Ferris
Mrs. Laleah Furniss
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Glenn
Mrs. Frank S. Goodman
Mrs. William E. Grabbe
Mr. and Mrs. James A. Hatcher
Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Hines V
Mr. Jack Hodge
Mrs. Lindsey Hopkins III
Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Howard
Mrs. Kathryn H. Hutchison
Mr. Barry V. Hutner
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Izlar, Jr.
Jamie and Charlie Jacobson-Adams
Mr. and Mrs. Craig B. Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun M. McDougall
Joyce L. Milner Charitable Trust
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Mozley
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Murphy
Mr. and Mrs. M. Lamar Oglesby
Mr. and Ms. Brooks Patterson
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Pendergrast, Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Pritchard
Mr. and Mrs. Rowland A. Radford, Jr.
Mr. Hugh Richardson, Jr.
Mr. Miller Robinson, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Pete Robinson
Mrs. Jane D. Scruggs
Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Shepherd
Mr. and Mrs. William T. Sherman
Mr. and Mrs. Charles U. Slick
Mrs. Elizabeth H. Smith
Mrs. Miriam W. Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor W. Smith
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Spain
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Sprunt
Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Travis
Ms. Heather Tucker
Ms. Eugenia Wattles
Mr. and Mrs. William H. White
Mrs. John D. Wood
Mr. Louis B. Wood, Jr.
Mr. Eric Zimmermann
Phillip g. grimes
Ms. Janet G. Craig
nicholas hardage
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher R. Hardage
rosa hatch
Mr. and Mrs. Mike D. Armstrong
Ms. Elizabeth U. Cobb
Mr. and Mrs. Mark G. Fair
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore M. Forbes, Jr.
Mrs. Frank S. Goodman
Mr. and Mrs. William A. Hanger
Mrs. Betty Kreimer
Mr. and Mrs. Louie A. Pittman, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Barry W. Reid
Mr. Spencer W. Smith, Sr.
Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth S. Taratus
Dr. and Mrs. Gary R. Ulicny
Ms. Dorothy Upton
Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. White, Jr.
Mrs. Charles R. Yates
richard l. hoffman
Mr. and Mrs. John C. Bacon
Fred A. hoyt, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. William L. Bost, Jr.
Ms. Katie Dillon
emogene humhries
Mr. and Mrs. C. Richard Hoskinson
Floyd e. “bill” Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Floyd E. Johnson, Jr.
matthew Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Adolphson
Mr. Wayne G. Blunck
Mr. D. L. Johnson
Ms. Margaret Van Nest
miriam “mimi” Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore M. Forbes, Jr.
Frank lawrence king
Mr. Joseph H. Brooks
Anne and Paul Petrey
Patricia A. kloeblen
Mrs. Amy Jarvis
John c. kranyecz, Jr.
Ms. Michelle Stulack
John r. “rick” leone iii
AIV, LP
Ms. Kristi Anderson
Hal N. Arnold, D.M.D.
Beyer-Barber Company
Ms. Cheryl A. Verlander and
Mr. Charles N. Bracht
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Certain
Clark-Reliance Corporation
Ms. Elizabeth C. Clough
Dodson Global, Inc.
Ms. Susan P. Hicks
Kitz Corporation of America
Mr. Stephen J. Lorenz
Mr. Robert Reed
Mr. Kenneth M. Sarkis
Ms. Lisa Seeley
Ms. Sherry Shank
The Shaw Group
Ms. Mary A. Starrett
Ms. Catherine Stephens
Mr. and Mrs. Randall D. Wilhoit
Mr. and Mrs. John T. Williammee
Wilson Industries LP
robert P. ludwig
Mrs. Lindsey Hopkins III
Pen lybrook
Ms. Phyllis Brooks
Tom maiwald – For his courage
and hope
Mr. and Mrs. William G. Moody
cecil c. malone
Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Smith
charles m. mccullough
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
kenneth mcgaha
Ms. Lois Benfield
Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland Boggs
Mr. and Mrs. Roger W. Carter
Ms. Irene Fulbright
Ms. Jackie Head
Ms. Susan McGaha
Ross Group, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Shirley
Ms. Mary Anne Thompson
Ms. Barbara Tito
Ms. Jane R. Waddell
Julius mihalik
Mr. Bob Rohr
linda noel
Ms. Leigh Parson
Frances wiley Parish
Ms. Meri Cotney
d. F. Parker
Mr. Del L. Parker
Preston Parnell
Ms. Catherine Gue
Mrs. Katherine Henken-Gerhardt
Mr. and Mrs. Randal Sanford
Miss Jessica Wagner
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Weil
margaret Perdue
Mrs. Lindsey Hopkins III
gail Perno
Mr. and Mrs. J. Harold Shepherd
Mrs. Joan Woodall
william m. Presley
Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Laney
Felicia ramacciotti
Mr. and Mrs. John F. Caldwell
robby redding
Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Redding III
wesley renfroe
Mr. and Mrs. Lonnie K. Garnto
mary Patricia reynolds
Mr. and Ms. Jeffrey E. Morrison
clarence haverty “clancey” ridley
Crawford & Company
Ms. Constance L. Dittmann Frazier
william m. “bill” robertson
Mrs. Grant R. Curtis
david e. rose, sr.
Mrs. W. R. Berry
larry schellhase
Mrs. Charles W. Sprott
Fred schultz
Mr. and Mrs. James M. Caswell, Jr.
shelby scott
Mr. Johnnie Reddick
grant siegel
Ms. Dianne Shelton
wendy simmons
Mrs. Reginald Heinitsh
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Ventulett III
Joan carol simpson
Mr. Dan Ratanasit
ronald simpson
Mr. Martin J. Troy
sam s. singer iii
Mrs. Ann Singer
elizabeth helen sligar
Mr. and Mrs. Milton Kassel
bootsie smith
Mrs. Patricia C. Williams
captain michael steflovich
Maj. (Ret) and Mrs. Karl V. Marzocchi
charlene stevens
Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus M. Kitchens
chris stone
Albany Land Co., Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Barksdale
Mr. and Mrs. James W. Beavers
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Bennett
Mr. and Mrs. Ty Bettis
Mr. and Mrs. Billy W. Boles
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Creamer
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn E. Creech
Ms. Linda K. Durden
Mr. and Mrs. James L. Flatt
Mr. and Mrs. Dexter Griffin
Ms. Diana Helton
Mr. and Mrs. William F. Huggins
Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Lee D. Keller
Ms. Susan C. Lehr
Mr. and Mrs. Reid Logan
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy McLean
Ms. Mary L. Mills
Moore, Clarke, DuVall & Rodgers, P.C.
Mr. J. B. Pellicano, CPA
Ms. Edna E. Peterson
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Pitts III
Reese Construction Company
Mr. and Mrs. John W. Salter III
Mr. and Mrs. Hubert F. Scott, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald A. Shook
Ms. Patrice S. Simpson
Mrs. Peggy P. Tierney
U-Sav-It Pharmacy, Inc.
Ms. Debra L. West
Mr. and Mrs. David Wiggins
Mr. and Mrs. James E. Wilson
Ms. Frances W. Zolomy
david straub
Ms. Mary C. Straub
mike P. sturdivant
Mr. and Mrs. Connor F. Nelson, Jr.
minnie m. sunderland
Mr. Mark S. Sunderland
eunice “Peach” Taylor
Ms. Eileen Shuman
Ms. Mona Shuman
Paul Taylor
Mrs. Lindsey Hopkins III
Mr. and Mrs. James R. Sowell
marty Thurmond
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenberg
betty Jane bolling Tippett
Mr. Emory Schwall
robert h. Tweedy iii
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Paschall
george ulicny
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald T. Seel
brent walker
Mr. and Mrs. Glen H. Holiman
Mr. and Mrs. Philip R. Stuart
Mr. and Mrs. William T. White
James F. walker
Mrs. Patricia C. Williams
michael carson waters
Mrs. and Mrs. Mario J. DeLaguardia
Frances willen
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Bennett, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Joel K. Isenberg
The Shepherd Center Auxiliary
Ms. Selma Singer
Mr. and Mrs. Terrence M. Tracy
iris g. williams
Mr. and Mrs. George W. Crist III
maxine wolchansky
Ms. Selma Singer
John “Jay” barnett woodruff iii
Ms. Ada Lewis
John “bart” woodruff, Jr.
J.W. & Ethel I. Woodruff Foundation Inc.
Jordan woods
Jordan Woods Legacy Fund
Mr. and Mrs. David Woods
4.
1.
2.
3.
2. shepherd
center employees
dedicate the assistive
technology van they
helped purchase in
memory of karl and
laura anschutz, the
children of assistive
technolgy center
manager John anschutz
and his wife terri. 3., 4.
atlanta Braves baseball
players tommy hanson
and martin prado
and manager fredi
gonzalez visit shepherd
center patients austin
Whitten (3) and
andrew Winfrey (4).
52 • ShepherdCenterMagazine.org Spinal Column ® / Fall 2012 • 53

aDDreSS ServICe requeSteD
Scan this QR code with your smart phone or go to
ShepherdCenterMagazine.org to view more photos and content.
atlanta to host national assembly
for rehabilitation Physicians
Nearly 2,000 physiatrists will gather in Atlanta in November for the
annual meeting of AAPM&R – the national association for doctors who
specialize in restoring optimal function to people with injuries to the
muscles, bones, tissues and nervous system.
As part of the three-day assembly, Shepherd Center will host tours of
its facilities and provide demonstrations of some of its latest technology,
including a powered orthosis (pictured here) that assists with walking for
people with paraplegic-level spinal cord injury. Engineers from Vanderbilt
University are collaborating with clinicians at Shepherd Center, where the
technology is being tested and evaluated.
Shepherd Center doctors and clinicians will be featured as speakers
and presenters during the assembly at the Georgia World Congress
Center, and they will participate in Shepherd’s exhibit that will feature
periodic, live demos of the powered orthosis.
In addition, Shepherd Center will co-host the “5K Rehab Run/Walk
and Roll” on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 17, in Atlanta, along with the
Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The race is an annual
event in tandem with the conference and is a fundraiser for the Foundation.
People with paraplegia who are interested in participating as research
subjects in the ongoing Vanderbilt powered orthosis testing at Shepherd
Center should complete the intake form available at
www.shepherd.org/research. q Larry Bowie
Photo BY ChriStoPher Martin
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Atlanta, GA
Permit No. 1703