Print This Page Former Shepherd Center Patients to Gather at St. Simons for Island Adventure September 2, 2008 Media Contacts: Larry Bowie Shepherd Center (404-350-7708)
The group of ten people, many of whom now use wheelchairs for mobility following their accidents, are former patients of Shepherd Center, a catastrophic care hospital in Atlanta that specializes in the medical treatment and rehabilitation of people with spinal cord and brain injuries. The former patients and their family members will gather for an afternoon of recreational activities including kayaking, jet skiing, swimming, pontoon boat riding and fishing using specially-adapted equipment for paraplegics and quadriplegics. In addition, participants will be served a lunch generously donated by Coastal Kitchen of St. Simons. The event is one of several organized each year by Shepherd Center in communities across the country. The events give former patients an opportunity to participate in a number of outdoor activities, possibly for the first time since their injuries, and to connect with other people who have experienced similar injuries. Most of the participants don’t know each another. They were treated at Shepherd Center at different times. But they’ll have a lot to talk about, such as adjusting to their lives after a catastrophic injury, what it was like returning to their community after spending several weeks or months in Atlanta undergoing rehabilitation, and how they’re managing to get on with their lives. The event is sponsored by Shepherd Center’s Marcus Community Bridge Program, which offers education and guidance to patients after they leave the hospital to help ease the transition back into their communities. Specialists in the program collaborate with the individual and their family to devise a plan that will guide and educate them about resources and options available in their communities so they can become better able to address psychosocial, career and medical issues that may arise during after their injury or illness. The Marcus Community Bridge Program is funded through a grant from Home Depot co-founder and philanthropist Bernie Marcus and his wife Billi, and The Marcus Foundation. WHEN: Friday, September 19, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. WHERE: Morningstar Marina, 206 Marina Drive, St. Simons Island, GA, 31522 WHAT: Former patients of Shepherd Center in Atlanta will participate in kayaking, jet skiing, pontoon boat riding and fishing using specially-adapted equipment for paraplegics and quadriplegics. MEDIA: Media are welcome to attend the event and interview or photograph patients or family members. CONTACT: For more information about the event, contact Larry Bowie (Shepherd Center) at 404-542-5678 or email Larry. Shepherd Center would like to acknowledge the generous sponsors in the community who helped to make this event possible: Affordable Plumbing Bart Altman, Attorney at Law Barnes Health Care Glen Coffield Coastal Kitchen Dependable Bait & Tackle Dominey Machine Shop Duckworth Tire Gentry Old School Boxing Gym Phil Martin Morningstar Marina Realtex Construction, Inc. S & S Wholesale Tackle Southeast Adventure Outfitters Marsha Troupe Photography Waste Management Inc. Woody Woodside, President
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