By Kevin Coughlin
Heidi Santore is a battler. And now, thanks to a generous Morris Township couple, she has a new weapon in her fight against Guillain-Barré syndrome.
It’s an apparatus called LiteGait, a suspension system that enables her, with help from physical therapists at Morristown Medical Center’s Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute, to approximate walking as she works to regain use of her limbs.
The LiteGait harness and a high-tech balance monitor, the Smart Equitest, are new additions to the rehab center on Mount Kemble Avenue, courtesy of Glenn and Marcie Yarnis.
Staff at the institute say the machines will benefit patients with a wide range of movement- impairing conditions, from concussions and age-related balance issues to Parkinson’s disease and A.L.S.
Video: Heidi Santore uses new LiteGait system. Video courtesy of Atlantic Rehabilitation Center.
The Yarnis family knows first-hand about the challenges facing these patients; Glenn’s father died from Parkinson’s and his grandmother succumbed to A.L.S., also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“We are blessed and lucky enough to be able to get involved,” said Marcie Yarnis.
The amount of their gift has not been disclosed, but Susan Johns of the Foundation for Morristown Medical Center characterized it as “sizable.” A Glenn and Marcie Yarnis Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Rehabilitation Center has been created at the institute to acknowledge the donors.
‘I WANT TO DO IT!’
One of the new machines, the $80,000 balance manager, looks a bit like a shower stall, with a video screen instead instead of faucets. The patient stands on foot plates that shift in a series of increasingly wobbly movements.
At first, it feels like being aboard a gently rolling ship. Eventually, the sensation is more akin to a moderate earthquake. The patient tries to maintain balance and remain centered in cross-hairs on the video screen. (Safety straps prevent any spills.) A computer plots the patient’s performance.
With this machine, and assistance from physical therapists, patients “can learn strategies to improve their safety and mobility,” to function more normally in everyday life, said Dr. Greg Mulford, chairman of rehabilitation services for the Atlantic Health System.
“Anyone who is at risk for falls could benefit from this,” added Jaime Cozine, lead physical therapist at the institute.
For a football player, the machine could help assess any lingering effects from a concussion. Therapists may use it to pinpoint the greatest risks to senior citizens concerned about balance problems.
For example, if machine tests determine that the issues primarily are visual, the patient can boost lighting at home to minimize risks of falling. Other precautions can be taken if the issue originates in the inner ear, or with the feet.
Someone with Parkinson’s, a condition that slows movement, “may feel they are in a neutral, safe position. But the machine will show they are in a position to fall backwards,” Mulford said. So the patient can adjust his or her posture accordingly.
Eying a demo of the Equitest balance manager, Jack McFadden exclaimed, “I want to do it!”
Through determination and hard work, McFadden, 72, has recovered much of the mobility robbed by a stroke in 2012. Doctors elsewhere told the Montville resident he never would walk again.
“I said, ‘Bull—-!'”
‘LEARN, EARN, RETURN’
Mulford described the Lite Gait contraption as “like a trapeze–with a safety net.”
This can provide exercise and spur confidence for people re-learning to walk, according to Cozine. The goal is to restore as much mobility as possible, and peace of mind.
“We want these patients to regain their quality of life,” Cozine said.
Not all of the improvements funded by the Yarnises are high-tech. Colored floor tiles–alternate blocks of salmon and white–are extremely useful for physical therapy routines in which patients practice assorted steps, Mulford said.
Services at the Yarnis Center will be available on an outpatient basis, by referral from a doctor, said Mulford. Medicare and Medicaid cover them to varying degrees, depending on the diagnosis and other guidelines, he said.
“None of this would be possible without Glenn and Marcie,” said Johns of the hospital foundation.
“It’s exciting. It’s a blessing,” said Cozine.
The Yarnises got involved after Glenn, who is retired from Wall Street, had a heart attack three years ago. They were so impressed with Morristown Medical Center’s level of care that they donated money to its cardio rehab center.
When the hospital reached out with an idea to help neuromuscular patients, the couple was eager to respond, said Marcie.
They both also are active members of Morristown’s Temple B’Nai Or and the parents committee at Cornell University, where their daughter Samantha is a junior. Their son Josh is a junior at Morristown High School.
Marcie also helps with fundraising for the Morris Educational Foundation and Morristown’s Got Talent, while Glenn serves similar roles for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and his alma mater, Lehigh University.
Their children are following this example. Samantha has mentored an autistic child for the last two years, and Josh is president of the temple’s youth group.
“We tell them: Learn, earn — and return,” Marcie said.
A very interesting article and human interest story. How gracious of those that can give and do so willingly. The Yarnasis should be admired and emulated for the caring of others. I love the saying learn, earn and return.
Diana Rizzolo