List Serve Members:
The following information was sent to me from my brother regarding one of
his friends in Cincinnati. While I know we do not work with internal
prosthetics I was hoping someone has a contact who might have some
suggestions for this young man. There is a web link about the disease
process at the bottom of the letter. Again, he is looking for an internal
elbow prosthesis which is best suited for a 28 year old man. Thanks in
advance for any information that you may have for him.
Bill Neu, CPO
From: Brian W. Neu [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 10:14 PM
To: Bill Neu
Subject: Michael Hartke, progressive pseudorheumatoid arthropathy of
childhood of childhood
Bill,
I have a good friend who is 28 and has a genetic disorder, progressive
pseudorheumatoid arthropathy of childhood— basically, all of his cartilage
in every joint degenerates to the state of a 100+ year old man. He is the
oldest person in the country with this disorder and one of only a handful in
the world. He is in incredible amounts of pain every day of his life and has
endured numerous surgeries to help support and replace parts of his body
that could no longer function.
In January of this year, he underwent an experimental back surgery procedure
after enduring months of being crippled by pain to the point of being
restricted to laying on his side on his couch. He has undergone physical
therapy as part of his post-op and now possibly due to the stress of rubber
bands used in the therapy, he has been told that he needs an elbow
replacement and has lost mobility in that arm.
The problem is that he has been told that the stress tolerance of the
typical replacement elbow has been engineered to the specs that a 90
year-old woman would place on it, and while he’s not the athletic type, the
threat of doing multiple replacements exists over time. He’s looking for a
higher-strength replacement elbow, and possibly a relationship with a
pharmaceutical research company for advanced treatment options (I have no
idea how this works, but I know he could use the best that science has to
offer).
Looking forward, he is greatly concerned about losing the mobility in his
fingers, which would bring serious challenges to his current career as a web
developer and programmer.
Any kind of news or support would do wonders to lift his spirits as this
disease takes it’s toll on him emotionally through the frustration of the
constant pain and endless restrictions the way he lives. He can be reached
via email
Thank you for forwarding this to whomever you think may be able to help.
Sincerely,
Brian
http://genetics.case.edu/warmanlab/ppd.php
—
“I cannot find any authority in the Constitution for public charity. [To
approve the measure] would be contrary to the letter and spirit of the
Constitution and subversive to the whole theory upon which the Union of
these States is founded.”
President Franklin Pierce 1854
