Physical Therapy

"I Am Joe's Aorta"; "I Am Joe's Brain. " Remember those? If this is your first rodeo, you don't. If it isn't you do. It was a series of articles in Reader's Digest years ago in which a different body part each month would tell you what function they performed for Joe. Other than the fact that he owned all the parts, you never knew anything about Joe – just "I Am Joe's Aorta" or "I Am Joe's Spinal Cord. " Things got a little dicey when they got to "I Am Joe's Lower Intestine," but they were very popular.

Ever had physical therapy? I have. In fact, I still am. Having it, that is. By now, you know the long, uninteresting story of how I broke my leg skiing 5 months ago. It's the first time I've done anything like that -- leg-breaking, not skiing -- and I've decided to not to do it again. I didn't like it. Here's what happens when you break your leg. You fall down. They pick you up. You go to a hospital. They put you to sleep. They fix your leg. You wake up. They take you home.

Editor's Note: This corrects an earlier version. COSTA MESA — When patients are zipped into the air-tight Alter G Anti-Gravity Treadmill from the waist-down, it feels like walking on the moon, said Chad Jarrett, co-owner of Jarrett Orthopaedic Rehabilitation in Costa Mesa. The rehabilitation center's recently acquired Alter G anti-gravity treadmill can help physical therapy patients take a giant leap toward total recovery, because movements on the machine are less of a shock to the legs' joints, said Jarrett, a physical therapist.

Alicia Robinson "Do it yourself" is a phrase not often applied to physical therapy, but John Lemme aims to change that. Although Lemme's Newport Beach business, Therapy Solutions, has taken clients in person for six years, it is now branching out to offer its "anatomical therapy" to clients over the Internet. Lemme describes anatomical therapy as a "hands-off approach" that doesn't use heat, cold, massage or any of the techniques of traditional physical therapy.

In early March, Dan Forte was out among the waves surfing with friends when he heard a lifeguard shout he was on the way to help. Forte looked around and saw others rushing to more shallow waters. In an instant, he realized what was going on. His friend, Jay Thomas, 32, was hurt. What everyone hoped was just a minor spill over a wave off Huntington Beach pier ended up being much more severe — Thomas, suffered a spinal-cord injury paralyzing him from the chest down. Enter Thomas’ friends, such as Forte, who are figuring out ways to help raise money to cover Thomas’ expenses not covered by insurance as he tries to recover.

Buttercup Buttercup once dragged her back legs behind her in pain, paralyzed after an unfortunate encounter with an open door that fractured her spine. Now, the orange female kitten is "walking, running and playing chase vigorously with the big cats," said DiAnna Pfaff-Martin, founder of the Community Animal Network. Her amazing recovery was the result of a lot of love and attention, including physical therapy, medicine and round-the-clock intensive care.

Taking the stage for Efren Davis is a way to escape — when he hits the first chord everything goes away — but this concert will bring him together with a situation that brought him face to face with the realities of how precious life is. Davis is the singer-guitarist for punk rock band JunK and is playing a benefit concert for friend Jay Thomas, who was paralyzed during a surfing accident in Huntington Beach. Before Thomas’ accident, Davis said he regarded life differently.

STEVE SMITH Two weeks ago there was a small, inadvertent omission from this column that has relevance today, New Year's Day. The idea, 14 days ago, was to help readers place personal events on a sliding scale to help determine just how important they really are. That determination usually leads to a lower level of stress and a happier life as one arrives at the realization that most of what we get upset about...

Marisa O'Neil Vance Hanning has been a regular sight around the Vista shopping center for the past 35 years, picking up a doughnut, getting a haircut or just sharing stories with others on his walk to work as a stocker at the center's supermarket. So when Hanning, 56, didn't stop by for a few days at Vista Barber to chat with longtime employee Ralph Cornejo, the barber wondered where he was. When he went to check on him at El Metate Market, Cornejo found out Hanning had been seriously injured Jan. 22, when a car hit him in a nearby alley as he walked a friend home.

When Corona del Mar High senior Allison Peotter has the counterattack working, it can appear so effortless. Peotter sprints toward the opponent’s goal, takes the precision pass from CdM junior goalie Kate Baldoni and scores. The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week has done that a lot lately, tallying a team-high 10 goals through the Sea Kings’ first three CIF Southern Section Division I playoff games. But, while Peotter is certainly a key player for CdM heading into Saturday night’s Division I title game against Back Bay rival Newport Harbor at Irvine High, the road there has not been nearly as smooth.

Newport Harbor was the best softball team in the Newport-Mesa area this year. With her impressive statistics and leadership, my conclusion was that the Sailors' sophomore catcher, Bella Secaira, was the best player. I called her cell phone a few weeks back to set up a Dream Team Player of the Year interview, not thinking too much of it when she didn't call back that same night. When I got into work the next day, I had a voicemail from Bella. She apologized for not calling back sooner, saying she'd been busy with schoolwork and things going on in her personal life and, oh yeah, she'd been in a little accident.

Editor's Note: This corrects an earlier version. COSTA MESA — When patients are zipped into the air-tight Alter G Anti-Gravity Treadmill from the waist-down, it feels like walking on the moon, said Chad Jarrett, co-owner of Jarrett Orthopaedic Rehabilitation in Costa Mesa. The rehabilitation center's recently acquired Alter G anti-gravity treadmill can help physical therapy patients take a giant leap toward total recovery, because movements on the machine are less of a shock to the legs' joints, said Jarrett, a physical therapist.

"I Am Joe's Aorta"; "I Am Joe's Brain. " Remember those? If this is your first rodeo, you don't. If it isn't you do. It was a series of articles in Reader's Digest years ago in which a different body part each month would tell you what function they performed for Joe. Other than the fact that he owned all the parts, you never knew anything about Joe – just "I Am Joe's Aorta" or "I Am Joe's Spinal Cord. " Things got a little dicey when they got to "I Am Joe's Lower Intestine," but they were very popular.

COSTA MESA — At this time last year, Harbor View played for Katie. Now Katie McCullough is the one making the plays for the Vikings in the Daily Pilot Cup. The Harbor View girls' fifth- and sixth-grade silver division team topped Newport Heights, 3-1, in its first game of the tournament Wednesday at the Costa Mesa Farm Sports Complex. McCullough was in on a lot of the action for Harbor View. The fifth grader had an assist and multiple long runs up the field from her right forward spot.

Taking the stage for Efren Davis is a way to escape — when he hits the first chord everything goes away — but this concert will bring him together with a situation that brought him face to face with the realities of how precious life is. Davis is the singer-guitarist for punk rock band JunK and is playing a benefit concert for friend Jay Thomas, who was paralyzed during a surfing accident in Huntington Beach. Before Thomas’ accident, Davis said he regarded life differently.

Bodysurfer Robert Khoury is known as “the guy who goes right” to members of the so-called New Crew, a group of bold, young swimmers who head to the famed Newport Beach body surfing spot the Wedge each day during the summer. At the Wedge, the jagged rocks of Newport’s West Jetty are to the right for body surfers who brave the waters there. A 21-year-old Newport Harbor High School graduate and aspiring professional tennis player, Khoury sustained a serious spinal cord injury while body surfing at the Wedge last week.

In early March, Dan Forte was out among the waves surfing with friends when he heard a lifeguard shout he was on the way to help. Forte looked around and saw others rushing to more shallow waters. In an instant, he realized what was going on. His friend, Jay Thomas, 32, was hurt. What everyone hoped was just a minor spill over a wave off Huntington Beach pier ended up being much more severe — Thomas, suffered a spinal-cord injury paralyzing him from the chest down. Enter Thomas’ friends, such as Forte, who are figuring out ways to help raise money to cover Thomas’ expenses not covered by insurance as he tries to recover.

AJ Wolfson had fractured the growth plate in his right shoulder before. When he was about 12, Wolfson said he had no idea how it happened. It just happened. The second time, his right shoulder, his throwing side, gave out March 30, a day after a Sage Hill School baseball game. Wolfson called the game insignificant. The 2 1/3 -inning outing sidelined him from pitching for four months. “I woke up and I couldn’t move my arm up,” Wolfson said. “I had very limited mobility in my arm.” That isn’t the case anymore.

When Corona del Mar High senior Allison Peotter has the counterattack working, it can appear so effortless. Peotter sprints toward the opponent’s goal, takes the precision pass from CdM junior goalie Kate Baldoni and scores. The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week has done that a lot lately, tallying a team-high 10 goals through the Sea Kings’ first three CIF Southern Section Division I playoff games. But, while Peotter is certainly a key player for CdM heading into Saturday night’s Division I title game against Back Bay rival Newport Harbor at Irvine High, the road there has not been nearly as smooth.

Marisa O'Neil Vance Hanning has been a regular sight around the Vista shopping center for the past 35 years, picking up a doughnut, getting a haircut or just sharing stories with others on his walk to work as a stocker at the center's supermarket. So when Hanning, 56, didn't stop by for a few days at Vista Barber to chat with longtime employee Ralph Cornejo, the barber wondered where he was. When he went to check on him at El Metate Market, Cornejo found out Hanning had been seriously injured Jan. 22, when a car hit him in a nearby alley as he walked a friend home.