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On a Mission
Alyson Roth will have a lot to tell her
students when they ask her what she did this summer. The elementary school
music teacher spent several days performing missionary work in a new
village being built in Nicaragua.
Roth, a former Shepherd patient, is pictured
here with two girls whose village was wiped out by mudslides caused by
Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The two girls and hundreds of other people are
preparing to move to the new village where Roth volunteers.
During the trip—one of
several she’s taken to Nicaragua—Roth ministered to women and children in
the community, taught music classes at a school for the blind and helped
at an orphanage for children with disabilities.
Roth, who was injured in a car accident in
July 2000, became interested in missionary work in Nicaragua after The
Getsemani Boy’s Choir from Chinandega, Nicaragua performed at the
elementary school in which she teaches. The young boys inspired
her to help those less fortunate than herself.
“These boys leave their
families for several months every year to help the poor, and their
sacrifice enables countless children to have hope for a better future,”
she said.
Roth went to
Central America with Amigos for Christ, an organization located in Buford,
Ga., that helps families in impoverished areas rebuild their lives by
buying land and creating new villages. The group bought 52 acres of land
to build a village—called Villa Catalina—for the people whose village was
destroyed by the mudslides. They had been living near a garbage dumpsite
since the disaster.
“Amigos for Christ has constructed homes, schools and medical
facilities in this area,” she said. “Anyone may move to the new village,
but they must send at least one family member to work there each day until
the village is built.”
Roth plans to return again because of the kind attitude she
experiences there. At first, she said she was concerned about
accessibility in the third-world country, but, “Once I was there, I
realized accessibility is all about what you make it. If you’re willing to
ask for help, then you can go anywhere and do anything.”
Breaking New
Ground
 Shepherd Center
broke ground in late August on the construction project for the new Jane
Woodruff Pavilion during a two-day celebration of events at the hospital.
The $48 million building expansion will take approximately two years to
finish and will nearly double the size of the hospital. The new addition will allow Shepherd to
treat more patients, add clinical space, provide more private rooms,
centralize outpatient services to ease accessibility for patients and
their families, and reduce staff overcrowding. The new building will be
constructed near the hospital’s front entrance.
Music to His Ears
 It’s not every day a kid gets to meet his
hero. But it happens. A few weeks before his discharge date from Shepherd,
16-year-old Jake Owen had the night of his life. Owen’s physical
therapist, Cathi Dugger, pulled a few strings and arranged to get two free
tickets to the Eric Clapton concert in Atlanta from local classic rock
station Z93, where a disc jockey had heard about Owen and helped to
arrange the surprise. Owen had played guitar from the age of four and grew
up listening to the rock legend and trying to play his songs. But after a
car accident in August 2003 injured his spinal cord, Owen hadn’t been able
to pick up a guitar. When the
pair arrived at Philips Arena for the concert, they learned that not only
did they have free tickets, but their seats had been upgraded to a suite
with two backstage passes waiting for them. Once backstage, Owen got the
chance to meet Clapton and get his autograph, as well as a picture of the
two of them he’ll always treasure. “Jake’s reactions were so fantastic
when we got backstage – I’ve never seen someone’s eyes get so big,” Dugger
said. Owen was invited by Clapton’s touring crew to catch another concert
in Buffalo, N.Y. after heading home.
Sponsor Helps Kayakers Chart
Course
 California-based
Dagger, Inc., one of the top kayaking equipment manufacturers in the
world, has agreed to sponsor Shepherd’s kayaking team, Shepherd Team
Dagger. Dagger donated six new kayaks, paddles and skirts (to seal the
inside) to the team. Currently, six athletes (including Laurel Lawson, pictured right, left,
above) practice with coach
Craig Heflin each week in the Shepherd pool, along with a monthly weekend
trip to the Cartecay River in North Georgia. The new equipment will help Shepherd’s Team
Dagger take their team to competitions, which are held during the summer.
“We are very excited to play a role in the development of new recreational
opportunities for people with disabilities,” said Mike Steck, Dagger
Marketing Director. Individuals of all skill levels are eligible to join
Shepherd Team Dagger. Anyone interested in joining the team should contact
Bob Baird, sports teams coordinator, at 404-367-1287.
Vows
Exchanged
 What place better
to tie the knot than the Shepherd Center? Just ask Derrick Grant, a
patient who married his fiancée, Cassie Jones, in the Shepherd atrium just
weeks after he suffered a spinal cord injury earlier this year in a car
accident. The couple had been engaged for two years prior to Grant’s
accident, but hadn’t yet set a date. After meeting Chaplain Ken Grosch of
Shepherd’s Pastoral Services, the two decided Shepherd was the place they
wanted to exchange nuptials. Grosch officiated over a small ceremony of
mostly family and friends. After Grant’s discharge, the couple planned to
return to their home with their two daughters in Warner Robbins,
Ga.
Scuba Pro Dives
into Rehab
 If you were
looking for John Frederic this summer, it was a good chance you’d find him
working out in the Shepherd pool. The 30-year-old scuba diving instructor
and water enthusiast spent months at the pool trying to build his strength
and endurance following a scuba diving accident off the coast of Australia
that left him paralyzed below his chest. A self-proclaimed adrenaline rush
enthusiast, Frederic’s athletic determination went into overdrive at
Shepherd, helping him to focus on his goals of walking and gaining
endurance. He began a rehab
regimen of physical and occupational therapy, in addition to therapeutic
recreation activities like pottery and canoeing. The work paid off,
resulting in his walking with assistance, as well as increased upper-body
strength and unbelievable morale and optimism about the future. Frederic
keeps his resolve by simply being thankful to be alive. “There’s still so
much to be done,” he said. “The possibilities are endless. I’m just glad
I’m not on the ocean floor right now.”
Quilter Weaves Shepherd
Stories
 If you were in
Washington, D.C. this summer, you may have seen the amazing work of one of
Shepherd Center’s most talented textiles artist, Marquetta Johnson
(pictured at left, right,
above, below). Several of
Johnson’s quilts were on display at Union Station as part of the 2004
International VSA Arts Festival, which featured literary, visual, media
and performing arts by artists with disabilities at venues throughout the
city. Johnson, who combines her artistry with art education for at-risk
children and people with disabilities, worked with a dozen patients at
Shepherd last year to make one of the quilts on display. The lap-size quilt includes fabric patches
that were painted by Shepherd patients. Johnson visited the Center earlier
this summer to show the quilt to staff and patients before taking it to
D.C. for the festival. A native of Atlanta, Johnson comes from four
generations of family artisans, including quilters, seamstresses, tailors
and embroiders.
We are the Champions
 Several Team Shepherd members and former patients qualified to go
to the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, representing the U.S. in swimming,
fencing, track and basketball. Pictured here: (left to right)
Carol Hickey, ranked first in the U.S. and second in the
world in wheelchair fencing, competing with both foil and epee.
She went to Sydney in 2000 and
has been on numerous World Cup and World Championship teams;
Curtis
Lovejoy, made Paralympic
history by qualifying in two non-related sports, swimming and fencing. At
the time of qualifying, he held the current world records in the 50m and
100m freestyle in swimming.  He also holds 10 world and 13 U.S. swimming
records, as well as being ranked 3rd in wheelchair fencing in the world;
Kristine
Alexander, who at age 54 is
the oldest wheelchair fencer, is ranked third in the U.S. Internationally
ranked 16th for foil weapon and 18th for epee weapon; and (pictured inset)
Teresa
Lannon, who played on the
U.S. women’s basketball team.
She was a member of the 2000 Sydney team and the 1998 and 2002 Gold Cup
teams. Not pictured: Bert Burns, Pete Collman and Scot
Hollenbeck.
U.S. News
Ranks Shepherd 16th for Rehab
 For the fifth year in a row, Shepherd Center
was named one of the country’s top rehabilitation hospitals in a
U.S. News & World
Report magazine survey.
Shepherd was ranked 16th among the 26 rehabilitation hospitals in the
nation that earned a spot in the U.S. News ranking in
July. “We’re honored to rank among the top rehabilitation hospitals in the
country and especially proud to be the highest ranked rehabilitation
hospital in the Southeast,” said Gary Ulicny, Ph.D., President and CEO of
Shepherd Center. Rankings for rehabilitation hospitals are based on
reputation among board-certified specialists. To make the list, hospitals must be
recommended by at least three percent of the physicians polled. The
specialists are asked to name five hospitals they consider the best in
their specialty, regardless of location or expense.
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