June 2009

For Teresa Slick, life got a lot better on June 24th. After a horrific car accident left her disabled thirteen years ago, Teresa underwent two hip replacement surgeries. Then, in March, while undergoing an operation to stretch her leg muscles, her femoral nerve was damaged, leaving her wheelchair-bound. But on Wednesday, June 24th, Teresa became the first person in South Central Pennsylvania, and one of only a dozen nationwide, to receive the custom E-Mag Active electronic stance phase control brace. The brace is cutting edge technology that includes a knee joint that "bionically locks and unlocks" when the patient needs the support and stability at both the ankle and knee. The revolutionary fitting took place at Ability's patient care center in Gettysburg.

The E-Mag Active, which is available only in the U.S., calibrates itself to understand how patients walk, then adjusts itself to meet the patient's stability needs. This allows patients much greater mobility, flexibility and independence than they previously enjoyed.

For Teresa, a former administrative assistant who has been forced to be on disability since her accident thirteen years ago, the fitting of the E-Mag marks a new chapter in her life. She looks forward to getting out of her wheelchair, enjoying her yard, cooking, sewing, painting, and even vacuuming. She also looks forward to saying goodbye to the pain and back fatigue that have plagued her for the past thirteen years.

"The E-Mag Active allows Teresa to substantially improve the quality of her life" said Kirk Ferris, Teresa's Orthotist. "The E-Mag Active along with many other new electronic joints will be useful for hundreds of thousands of patients."

For Ability, this marks a series of recent "firsts," including being the first prosthetic office in Philadelphia to fit an i-LIMB bionic hand on a patient. Ability is currently fitting nine patients with the i-LIMB and four with the E-MAG Active.

"The exponential advances in Orthotics and Prosthetics brought of the past few years are amazing," said Jeffrey Brandt, CEO & Founder of Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics, Inc., "We're proud to be at the forefront of Prosthetics and Orthotics' firms making those advances available to patients. It is all about applying the advancements to improve quality of life through standing, walking and working."