TODAY news - Nov. 21, 2002

Thursday, November 21, 2002 TODAY

Loma Linda University Community Medical Center news

East Campus urgent care serves community

On September 1, 2002, Loma Linda University Community Medical Center and Loma Linda University Medical Center consolidated their emergency department services onto one campus at Loma Linda University Medical Center. The Community Medical Center emergency room was restructured as an urgent care facility for non-traumatic injuries. Since its opening, more than 100 patients are seen a day.

The consolidation of services was decided upon to better manage expenses and increase efficiency of services. The dedication of the Community Medical Center to urgent care and the new capacity of the Medical Center emergency department means less waiting time for patients.

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Loma Linda University Rehabilitation Institute teams complete CAF San Diego Triathlon Challenge

Team Loma Linda gives a hearty thumbs up at the end of the race day. From left to right are: (back row) Jeff Distleberg, Ken Pearson, Carlos Moretto, Chris Gorton, Don Pursley, DBA, senior vice-president & CFO of LLUMC, Scott Dexter, Fabio Maia, Adam Hart, Matthew Rott, and Lisa Love; (front row) Kebrina Vinglos, Janelle Stewart, Daniel Schimpf, Willie Stewart, and Jeremy Newman.

A 1.2-mile swim. A 56-mile bike ride. A 13.1-mile run. And 450 competitors. The Loma Linda University Rehabilitation Institute’s San Diego Triathlon Challenge, held on Sunday, November 3, at La Jolla Cove left participants and spectators alike with a sense of accomplishment and awe. The main fundraiser for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), this half-Ironman event raised $812,000 to help support physically challenged athletes with equipment to pursue a life of physical fitness and sports. Eighteen competitors were from the Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center community.

The Loma Linda University Rehabilitation Institute (LLURI) acted its first part as the title sponsor for the event. The institute sponsored uniforms for each of the six teams of three people each from Loma Linda who competed in the swim, bike ride, and run. The goal of the race was to simply raise awareness and funds for the CAF.

One of the highlighted teams for the event was Team Braveheart, made up of the disabled athlete superstar Rudy Garcia-Tolson, comedian Robin Williams, and professional athlete Scott Tinley. Rudy, a 14-year-old double amputee with no legs, is the inspiration for the team name. “A brave heart is a powerful weapon,” Rudy’s motto goes.

Rudy Garcia-Tolson and Robin Williams, members of Team Braveheart, take a moment after Mr. Williams’ 56-mile bike ride to talk with the media.

And he keeps proving it. On January 18, the Olympic torch passed into Rudy’s hands in San Francisco, the hometown of his friend Robin Williams. He has competed in the Los Angeles Triathlon, a challenged athlete event in Brazil, and is training for the 2004 Paralympic games.

With all the training and racing, Rudy’s heart is not only brave, it is strong. Michael Davidson, a certified prosthetist and orthotist (CPO) at Loma Linda University Rehabilitation Institute, has worked with Rudy ever since he was five, fitting, refitting, and fixing numerous pairs of legs for the active youth. With the help of the LLURI staff, Rudy has learned to run, swim, and bike.

This year, Rudy set a personal best record in the 1.2 mile swim, beating the 27 minute mark. “It was a great swim!” smiles Rudy. He practices two hours a day for five days a week, swimming between three and four miles each day. After the race, Rudy said with an appreciative tone “Thank you, Loma Linda. You made me whole!”

Rudy tagged teammate Robin Williams, who rode the 56-mile bike ride in just under three hours, and tagged Scott Tinley to finish the last running leg of 13.1 miles.

Willie Stewart is on the run after completing the swimming and biking parts of the San Diego Triathlon Challenge.

The all-day event began before dawn, as the athletes gathered for registration and introductions. The race got underway at 8:00 a.m. with the swim starting it off in the waters of La Jolla Cove.

Willie Stewart was another highlighted athlete from Loma Linda, and one of the crowd favorites. People cheered “one-armed Willie” as he made a huge effort to complete the race just two weeks after winning the disabled division of the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, in 10 hours and 48 minutes. Mr. Stewart swam, biked, and ran his way to a four-hour and 57-minute finish at the San Diego Triathlon Challenge.

Jeremy Newman, LLU Rehabilitation Institute team member and a paraplegic, was in a skydiving accident in 1997.

“I owe my actual being here on this earth to Loma Linda,” says Mr. Newman. “I came to Loma Linda with multiple injuries. I died twice, but the efforts of the doctors put me back together again.”

Active in athletics before the accident, Mr. Newman wanted to get involved again, “but didn’t know where to look.

“I wanted desperately to get back into sports and athletics,” he adds, “but I didn’t know how.”

After the 13.1 mile run, Will Ferrel, a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, poses with Mr. Newman.

The Challenged Athletes Foundation put him back into action. A part of the CAF since 1999, Mr. Newman swam the 1.2 miles in La Jolla Cove.

“I was physically saved at Loma Linda University Medical Center,” states Mr. Newman. “And I was emotionally saved by the Challenged Athletes Foundation. The merging of these two organizations is wonderful news.”

Loma Linda University Rehabilitation Institute’s new 23-acre complex, to be an expansion of the current institute, is in the planning stages and uses a total approach concept to rehabilitation. The institute’s main goal is to prepare patients for a lifestyle that maximizes their potential after injury, illness, or surgery by combining physical, emotional, spiritual, and logistic elements to the rehabilitation process.

[More pictures]

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Cyclist from Ghana receives prosthetic leg fitting, takes part in triathlon

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, age 25, took part in the San Diego Challenged Athletes Triathlon, held November 3 in La Jolla. He has been fitted for a prosthetic leg at the LLU Rehabilitation Institute and will return in January, 2003, to receive it.

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah recently traveled from Ghana, Africa, to the United States to take part in a cycling relay race at the San Diego Triathlon Challenge, held November 3 in La Jolla.

His personal time was seven hours and 40 minutes.

While in Southern California, he visited the LLU Rehabilitation Institute to be measured for a prosthetic leg. In January, 2003, he plans to return to Loma Linda to receive his new leg.

This past September, he rode 600 kilometers in his home country of Ghana in an effort to raise awareness of the needs of the physically challenged, as well as the many ways they can benefit society.

On Thursday, November 7, he returned to Ghana. His travel expenses this time around were covered by the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Mr. Yeboah hopes to find sponsorship for both his travel and medical expenses in January.

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Thursday, November 21, 2002 TODAY