Health

New charter school aims to help children with autism

November 13, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Children with autism often are unable to say what they need or want, said Carrie Walker.

She’s the director of Florida Autism Center of Excellence, a Pasco County charter school that opened this year in Zephyrhills.

“They’re hungry. They’re sleepy. They can’t express when they’re hurting,” Walker said.

Carrie Walker is the director of Florida Autism Center of Excellence, which is located at 39375 Chancey Road. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

That inability to communicate can cause frustrations, which boil over into behavior problems, Walker added. So, it’s essential to help them learn that their voice is a tool to help them get what they need or want.

“You want to focus on the language first,” said Claire Stanford, a board-certified behavior analyst who works with children at the charter school for prekindergarten through fifth-grade students.

Although public awareness about autism has improved, stereotypes about it still exist, both women said.

Some people lump all children with autism into the same group, failing to distinguish their individual differences. Others assume that children with autism must have low IQs because of their inability to verbalize. Others brand children with autism as being bad kids.

“Autism is a spectrum,” Walker said. Each child faces individual challenges.

By helping children develop and use language skills, problems with behavior often are resolved, Stanford said.

The Florida Autism Center of Excellence aims to help students gain academic, social and behavioral skills needed to be independent in later life. The center uses the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis — a research-based strategy that has been proven to be effective for teaching students with autism.

“We break the goals down into small, discrete, observable steps,” Stanford said. Students are given praise and reinforcement for exhibiting those steps.

While many schools use a stoplight system to regulate behavior, the charter school does not. At those schools, all of the kids will start on green, Stanford said.

“There’s nothing they can do but go down,” she said.

The charter school teaches children to substitute unacceptable behaviors with acceptable choices, Stanford said.

“We do not use punishment,” Walker said.

The school uses individual language assessments to pinpoint gaps. Stanford then helps teachers write a teaching plan, and a data sheet is used to monitor how a student is faring. Parents receive monthly progress reports.

The idea is to tailor instruction to meet an individual child’s needs.

The charter school, on Chancey Road, operates out of a number of portable classroom buildings. It has an enrollment of 18, and is continuing to accept new students until it reaches this year’s cap of 38. Once that happens, new students will be admitted through a lottery system.

Next year, the school hopes to add middle school classes. Ultimately, it would like to have 110 students, Walker said.

To be eligible, students must have a diagnosis of autism by a medical doctor or an Individual Education Plan issued by a school that states the student has autism, Walker said.

She encourages families to take quick action if they believe their son or daughter has autism. The sooner a child is diagnosed, the sooner he or she can get help.

“You want to get them enrolled as early as possible,” Walker said. “Early intervention is the key.”

The charter school also wants to give parents support and help. Parents often feel they are being blamed for their child’s behavior, Walker said.

“For some of them, they feel they’re being pointed at, they’re the cause,” she said. “This is a safe environment for them. They don’t feel judged.”

Walker said the work she does is rewarding.

“I like to see the gains,” Walker said, referring to the progress that students make. “I like to give hope to the parents, because there is hope.”

What: Florida Autism Center of Excellence is a Pasco County Schools charter school providing services for children with autism. It serve prekindergarten through fifth grade, and hopes to add middle school classes next year.
Where: 39735 Chancey Road, Zephyrhills
Web: www.FACEProgram.org
Phone: (813) 395-5952

About autism
As a spectrum disorder, children and adults with autism can exhibit any combination of these behaviors in any degree of severity.
Some examples of behaviors a person with autism may display are:
• Communication: Children may have difficulty in verbal and nonverbal communication. There may be a lack of language development. Speech may be limited or disordered, or they may engage in one-sided conversations. They may have challenges with body language, facial expressions, gestures and signs.
• Social Interactions: Children may exhibit highly inappropriate behaviors and may show indifference to others. They may avoid affection, eye contact, and may play by themselves.
• Imagination: Play may be limited to one or two activities, involving repetitive actions.
• Playing: Children may use toys inappropriately and not for their intended purpose.
• Repetitive Behaviors: Children may develop ritualistic behaviors and obsessions.
Autistic behaviors may include rocking, spinning, flicking hands or fingers in front of their eyes, tapping objects and mouthing objects.
Source: www.FACEProgram.com

Young girls keep smiling … through pain of arthritis

November 13, 2013 By B.C. Manion

At first blush, Lindsey and Ashley Valenti look like typical preteenage girls.

They enjoy doing typical preteen things: Going to Disney theme parks, attending birthday parties and playing.

But doing even these simple things is difficult for the Wesley Chapel girls, as they both suffer from juvenile arthritis.

Ashley Valenti, left, and her sister Lindsey have been selected as the child honorees for the Tampa Bay Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Walk/Run event in December. Both girls have had to curtail many of the activities they enjoy because of the pain they suffer from juvenile arthritis. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

Still, they keep an upbeat attitude, which their mom, Mary Valenti, said is probably one of the reasons they’ve been chosen as the child honorees for Tampa’s Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run/Walk. The event is set for Dec. 21 at the Dale Mabry campus of Hillsborough County Community College. Besides a 5-kilometer and one-mile run, there also will be activities for kids, a silent auction and awards.

Valenti is pleased that her daughters were selected for the honor because she thinks it’s important to spread the word about juvenile arthritis, a condition she believes is often misunderstood. Both girls — who also require a monthly infusion of antibodies because of an immune system condition called specific antibody deficiency — were diagnosed in 2010, but Valenti suspects that they had the condition much longer.

Lindsey, 12, said she began noticing problems with her knees about two years before she was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. She was taking a dance class and one part of a routine required dancers to spring up from the floor.

“All of the girls were able to get off the floor with ease,” Lindsey said. All except for her. She had to push herself up.

When Valenti reported that Lindsey’s knees were swollen, it was explained away as “growing pains,” she said. Lindsey had back pain, which doctors said could be kidney infection. She had severe fatigue that was chalked up to her immune system condition.

“It took us a very long time to come to this diagnosis,” Valenti said.

But it didn’t take as long to recognize Ashley’s condition, her mom said. When Ashley complained that her foot hurt, they initially thought she had turned her ankle.

When that wasn’t the problem, Valenti wondered if Ashley also might have juvenile arthritis. A rheumatologist confirmed her suspicion.

Many people have never even heard of juvenile arthritis, Valenti said. Often, they trivialize the condition, saying things like their grandmother or grandfather has arthritis.

“They don’t get it. They don’t understand it. This is a life-altering diagnosis,” Valenti said. “They look so normal and healthy, that’s why we have trouble getting across to people how serious this is.”

The arthritis they have is aggressive and lifelong. It affects organs. It affects their heart. It causes blindness.

“These are things we constantly having to get checked,” she said. “We have a team of about seven specialists.”

Lindsey remembers that recently she saw her neighbors playing outside.

“We used to be out there with them, and now we can’t,” she said. “It hurts to run. We’d go and play tag. We live in a lot of pain.”

When Lindsey wakes up in the morning, she has at least an hour of stiffness “with every joint, my neck, my knees, everything.”

The arthritis has prompted Lindsey to be home-schooled, taking classes through Florida Virtual School. But it can be hard, because Lindsey is at an age where having a social life is important. Being out of sight means being out of mind, she said, noting she doesn’t attend many birthday parties because she’s not invited.

“I have a wheelchair that I use off and on during flares, and sometimes I think kids are almost scared of what to say, so I’m avoided,” Lindsey said. “Ashley will go and play with the Barbies and she’ll need help getting up. And, I’ll sit down on the floor, and I’m pulling on the chair to try to get myself up. Even getting up from a chair is sometimes hard.”

Ashley attends Wesley Chapel Elementary School, but is frequently out of school to attend doctor’s appointments and get treatments.

Valenti and her husband Tony try to keep things as normal as possible for her girls. When Ashley’s school had a Halloween parade, for instance, Valenti pushed her daughter around in a wheelchair so Ashley could take part.

“She’s fifth grade, it’s her last one. We’re fighting to make it memorable for her because fifth grade is a big deal,” Valenti said. “I don’t know how much more schooling she’s going to be able to attend. We have some decisions to make for next year. We’re probably going to have to do the virtual school as well. But it’s a tough choice. She’s a very social kid.”

Besides robbing her children of their childhood, the disease has posed challenges for the entire family, Valenti said, especially when it comes to finances. There’s the cost of medical treatment, doctor visits and medication. There’s also the cost of just driving the girls to their medical appointments, which include trips to St. Petersburg and Gainesville.

“We bought a brand new car in May just because we travel so much, and I already have 12,000 miles on it,” Valenti said.

They’ve formed a fundraising team they call the Valient Valentis, and they’ve had some local events to raise money to help battle arthritis. They’re determined to do what they can to help their daughters and others who suffer from juvenile arthritis.

WHAT: Jingle Bell Run/Walk
WHO: Tampa Bay Arthritis Foundation
WHEN: Dec. 21, with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m.
WHERE: Dale Mabry campus of Hillsborough Community College, 4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.

Nurse earns national accolades creating new approach to care

November 13, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Susan Scherer — one of four finalists for a national nursing honor — wants to help patients understand their medical conditions and to obtain the most appropriate care.

Scherer will find out Friday if she received the 2013 Oncology Nurse Excellence award from the Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators when they meet in Memphis, Tenn.

Susan Scherer, a nurse who lives in Land O’ Lakes, has created a business called RN Cancer Guides. It pairs an oncology nurse with a patient to help the patient gain a clearer understanding of complex medical issues as well as the complicated medical system. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

Scherer is gratified to be recognized as being among the nation’s leading oncology nurses, but she is even more excited about a business she has launched that will serve patients in a new way: RN Cancer Guides.

It pairs oncology nurses with cancer patients to help the patients gain a better understanding of their medical condition, and to be better equipped to manage their care. It’s a unique approach, Scherer said, noting “it’s never been done.”

The company is in its infancy, but the Land O’ Lakes nurse foresees vast potential for expansion, as there is no shortage of a need for the services her company provides.

In a nutshell, RN Cancer Guides provides a nursing expert to review a patient’s medical records and medications, and to accompany a patient on important doctor visits when patients are at a decision point in their care. They also help patients become aware of resources that may be available to help them reduce medication and medical service charges, or to help cover those costs.

Prior to launching her business this summer, Scherer worked as a nurse at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. Before that, she was a nurse in Minnesota where she suffered a stroke. That gave her a greater affinity for working with patients with neurological conditions.

Scherer’s goal is to help patients learn enough to handle their health care issues on their own, but she said most people are not equipped to deal with the complex issues that confront cancer patients. On top of that, patients generally are grappling with emotional and financial pressures, as well as impacts their conditions have on their work and family lives.

She believes oncology nurses are in a unique position to help cancer patients understand their condition, become more aware of their options, and pursue appropriate care.

“Nurses seem to be the point of contact. Patients really open up to nursing,” Scherer said.

She also is a staunch advocate for patient rights.

“People are having to take more responsibility for their own health care,” Scherer said. “I believe people have the right to hear what’s going on, honestly, with them.”

Unfortunately, many people find doctors to be intimidating, she said. “There’s a whole generation of, ‘Well, the doctor said …’”

Finding appropriate care is essential, but that doesn’t always happen. “People will shop for cars more than they will their own physician,” she said.

Scherer’s service helps people gain greater insight about their options and resources that may be available to help them. It also helps patients realize they need to advocate for their health care.

“I give them a voice. I say, ‘You have every right to say what you have to say. You have every right to be heard. This is your life,’” she said.

She believes patients want to be informed about their condition, — even when the news is bad.

“If you arm people with education and you tell them the truth, they can handle it a lot better than if you blindside them,” Scherer said.

She believes her new venture is particularly timely.

“Right now, we have this health care system and nobody knows what’s happening. It’s mass chaos. Looking at how fragmented that things are right now, now is the time to help out,” she said.

RN Cancer Guides serves patients at any stage of their diagnosis, she said.

Costs for the service vary. For newly diagnosed patients with no complications, the service is $750, which includes 10 hours of service and a doctor’s visit.

The cost increases to $1,000 for 15 hours of service and a doctor’s visit, for more complicated cases, and $2,000 for up to 20 hours of service and a doctor’s visit for even more complex cases.

There’s also an hourly consulting service available at $149 an hour. And, there are corporate programs available, too, for businesses that want to provide a cancer assistance program for their employees.

When the patient is facing an important decision, the oncology nurse will accompany them on that doctor visit, Scherer said.

“When I go into physicians’ offices, I have to not be adversarial. I’m supposed to be an extension of everybody, to make sure they’re all talking,” Scherer said.

If she wins the award on Friday, it won’t be Scherer’s first honor. In 2005, she received a Florida Hospital Heroes Award after she and her husband, Nick, traveled to Mississippi twice in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The couple hauled a trailer full of food and supplies to dispense to storm victims. She also provided medical assistance, administering tetanus shots and helping in other ways.

Anyone who would like to know more about RN Cancer Guides can call (813) 360-1145, can email , or can visit the company’s website at www.RNCancerGuides.com.

They fly the friendly skies to help those in need

November 13, 2013 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Sherri Lonon

Two local residents were nominated for pilot of the year honors for their dedication to the nonprofit that flies missions of mercy throughout the Southeast.

John Hanselman and David Trilling are on a mission to give back to others in need.

As pilots for Angel Flight Southeast, Trilling of Lutz and Hanselman of Odessa, give their time and donate their personal aircraft and fuel to take patients in need of medical care to appointments. Whether it’s transporting a child to another state for cancer treatments or flying a transplant organ from a donor hospital to a patient in need, Hanselman and Trilling stand ready to answer calls for help when they arise.

For their efforts, Angel Flight Southeast has nominated both Hanselman and Trilling for its pilot of the year award. The award is the highest honor Angel Flight bestows on its volunteer pilots.

Angel Flight Southeast is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that serves Florida. Through a network of about 650 volunteer pilots, the agency helps those who are unable to take commercial flights — whether for financial or medical reasons — get to their appointments within the state, or in other states. It’s part of the Air Charity Network, which logs more than 22,000 missions annually, according to Angel Flight’s website.

Trilling won pilot of the year during a ceremony Sunday night, while Hanselman received the “Above & Beyond” award, given to pilots who not only volunteer their time, planes and fuel for Angel Flight missions, but also work to raise awareness for the charity, and will often help with fundraising.

Hanselman and Trilling both say they are honored by the nominations and wins, but admit they don’t take to the skies in hopes of earning awards.

“Most pilots just absolutely love to fly, and they love to fly with purpose,” said Hanselman, who has been flying for Angel Flight for about a year.

Hanselman first learned about the organization in the 1980s while he was working on his pilot’s license. He promised himself if he was ever in a position to take part, he would.

When Hanselman retired and sold his stake in a business, he bought a Cessna 206h and kept that promise to himself. His first flight for the nonprofit was a year ago.

For Hanselman, being a part of such a “noble enterprise” is reward enough.

“I enjoy flying, and at the same time, it’s giving back,” he said.

Trilling’s motivations are similar.

“After five years of flying, earning ratings and certificates, I wanted to use the acquired flying skills to do interesting flying as well as give back to the community,” he said.

Trilling learned how to fly after working 35 years in the food research and development arena.

“After retiring, I consulted and learned how to fly, always having been interested in planes and the magic of flight,” he said.

Now a flight instructor and volunteer with Angel Flight, Trilling uses his personal plane, a Mooney, to conduct missions of mercy.

As for the nomination, Trilling is honored, but says that “all of the pilots who contribute their time and planes for this purpose are pilots of the year.”

For more information about Angel Flight, visit the nonprofit online at www.AngelFlightSE.org.

Young Virginia cancer patient inspired Plantation Palms fundraiser

November 6, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Christina Jenks recently had her head shaved for a cause. She’s trying to help put an end to pediatric cancer.

Jenks and her husband Eric are behind a fundraiser planned for Nov. 9 at Plantation Palms Golf Club in Land O’ Lakes. The event combines a golf tournament, head shavings and fun activities for kids and adults, aimed at raising money for St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Foundation to support pediatric cancer research.

Christina Jenks shaved her head to battle pediatric cancer. Will you? There are other ways to help, as well, of course. A fundraiser is set for Saturday at Plantation Palms to help fight pediatric cancer. (Photo courtesy of Christina Jenks)

The Jenks, who are the founders of Big Heroes 4 Little Warriors, began their crusade against childhood cancer a couple of years ago. It began when Christina Jenks read about a 6-year-old boy in Virginia who was fighting for his life.

One of the things that the little boy, Nathan Norman, said he most wanted for Christmas was cards from his heroes — police officers, firefighters and rescue personnel.

The young boy’s plea touched Jenks’ heart.

She approached her husband, a firefighter with Pasco Fire Rescue, and suggested they get the boy a card and ask firefighters at various stations to sign it.

The simple gesture snowballed into an avalanche of love as word spread. Fire and rescue folks from Orlando to Pinellas County began calling, expressing their desire to get involved.

“The response ended up being overwhelming,” Jenks said. “They wanted to donate helmets, they wanted to donate uniforms. They were making gifts for him. We had stuff coming from everywhere.”

They got so much, in fact, they wound up loading up their Chevy pickup and driving 700 miles to the Normans’ home in Lynchburg, Va., to deliver the loot to the young boy.

That was in December 2012.

When they arrived, the boy’s parents talked to them about the need to help children who have cancer. The Normans had launched their own fundraising organization and wound up giving the Jenks 110 gift bags to bring back to children at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa and All Children’s Hospital.

The Jenks later decided to create Big Heroes 4 Little Warriors to help children in the Tampa Bay area who, like Nathan, are fighting for their lives.

The couple said they felt called to get involved.

“For me, I’ve been in fire rescue for more than 20 years, and helping people is something I love to do,” Eric Jenks said.

“All you have to do is meet one of these children and that’s all it takes – to see the battle they’re fighting, you just want to fight it for them,” his wife added. “That’s what we’re doing, we’re fighting for a need that needs to be filled. These kids need someone to fight for them. That’s what we’re doing.”

If you go
When: Saturday, Nov. 9; Opening ceremony 11:30 a.m., shot gun start for the golf tournament as well as head shaving and family event at noon.
Where; Plantation Palms Golf Club, 23253 Plantation Palms Blvd., Land O’ Lakes
What: Golf tournament, chance drawings, face painting, bounce houses, head shaving, games, arts and crafts, DJs and other activities.
Plantation Palms will donate 10 percent of all restaurant proceeds.
For more information, call Eric or Christina Jenks at (727) 641-6075.

Riders revved up to fight diabetes at Cycle-a-Thon

October 30, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Pura Cycling Studio is taking aim in the fight against diabetes by hosting a Cycle-a-Thon on Nov. 9.

The ride will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., with giveaways every hour.

Riders will participate in 45-minute heart-pumping rides to do their bit in the movement to stop diabetes, said Stephanie Farquhar, who co-owns the cycling studio along with Alfio Carroccetto.

The event, being held in conjunction with the cycling studio’s first anniversary, will feature chance drawings, goodie bags and T-shirts, and will offer information to help reduce the risk of diabetes.

Fresh Healthy Café At Wiregrass will cater the event, and chance tickets will be sold on prizes donated by Nutrition S’Mart of Wesley Chapel, Massage Envy Wesley Chapel, Tampa Bay MatchMakers, Polar USA, Fitniche Wiregrass and others.

Those taking part in the fundraiser will donate $25 for each session on the stationery bicycles at the studio. Some of the studio’s regulars have already signed up to do two sessions, Farquhar said.

All of the proceeds from the event will benefit the American Diabetes Association.

The business was motivated to do the fundraiser because the diabetes organization reached out, asking for help and because the owners know people who have the disease. Farquhar said she was surprised to learn that the disease affects so many people and that it has such far-reaching health and medical cost implications.

Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes, and another 79 million are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes by 2050 unless steps are taken to stop the disease, the organization said.

Two out of three people who have diabetes die from heart disease or stroke, according to the diabetes association. It is also the leading cause of new blindness among adults, and people who have the disease are 10 times more likely to undergo an amputation than those without it.

It’s also a very expensive health problem, with the average medical expenditure for people with diabetes being 2.3 times higher than without it, the association reports.

Anyone wishing to participate in the fundraiser can reserve a spot, call (813) 501-2124.

Seminar tackles serious threat of concussions

October 16, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Dr. Jonathan Phillips was in his residency near Pittsburgh when he was introduced to the realm of concussions and the kind of harm they can inflict.

The deficits they cause can affect much more than an athlete’s ability to get back onto the playing field, said Phillips, whose office is in the Wellness Plaza at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. They can harm the athlete’s learning abilities and the impacts can spill over to family life, as parents have to shift their priorities to get proper treatment for their child.

Dr. Jonathan Phillips, of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel’s Wellness Plaza, conducts a concussion exam. (Photo courtesy of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel)

Philips is sharing that and more in a seminar, “Rising Dangers of Concussion: What Coaches, Parents and Young Athletes Need to Know.” It takes place Oct. 22 beginning at 6 p.m.

Admission is free, and so is a meal that comes with it, but those wishing to attend must register in advance.

Phillips is certified in sports medicine and has provided care for many athletes. During his fellowship at the University of South Florida, he took care of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the USF Bulls, and even the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team when they were in town for Spring Training.

Now, he’s the team doctor for the Arena Football League team Tampa Bay Storm.

“The biggest thing that people don’t realize is that concussions account for about 1.6 (million) of the 3.8 million of traumatic or mild brain injury in the folks ages 15 to 24,” said Phillips, citing statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To combat that problem, it’s essential for coaches, parents and athletes to become more aware of the causes and symptoms of concussions, and the proper course of treatment.

Parents whose children don’t play heavy contact sports, such as football, may think their children aren’t at risk, Phillips said. But that isn’t true. Concussions can occur in athletes playing a wide range of sports, including soccer, basketball, baseball and volleyball.

The CDC has published educational materials to help coaches, parents and athletes learn prevention strategies and how to identify symptoms. Phillips will discuss prevention, symptoms and treatment of concussion at his seminar.

A concussion, the doctor said, “is a mechanical stress on the brain itself that causes it to move, or shift inside the head.”

That shifting causes a metabolic injury to the brain, Phillips said.

While concussions often result from a jolt or blow to the head, they can also be caused by a hit to another part of the body, such as a whiplash action, the doctor said.

Symptoms of a concussion can include loss of consciousness, headaches, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, changes in behavior and sensitivity to noise or light.

Those symptoms may become evident on a playing field, on the sideline or in a locker room, Phillips said. Sometimes, however, the signs of a concussion show up later.

When a concussion is suspected, the next step is to seek medical care and then to receive medical clearance before returning to sport, the CDC says.

Phillips recommends seeing a doctor who is knowledgeable about concussions — to get the proper care as quickly as possible and to avoid unnecessary tests, which can be expensive and may delay appropriate treatment.

“Not everyone needs an MRI. Not everyone needs a CAT scan. Not everyone needs an EEG,” Phillips said, describing an electroencephalography exam.

One tool that’s helpful is an online baseline test of an athlete’s memory, reaction time, motor speed and so on, Phillips said.

“After they have a baseline test, if they were to get injured, it would be easy to see the comparison,” Phillips said, noting it’s just one of the tools that doctors use to evaluate a patient with a suspected concussion.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel provides these baseline tests for free to youth athletes, said Tracy Clouser, director of marketing for the hospital.

While people may think that dramatic, head-jolting hits cause the worst concussions, Phillips said that small, repeated injuries are generally more damaging.

“A lot of times those spectacular hits that you see where people get knocked out for one- or 15 seconds, and then they’re up — those folks recover fairly quickly as opposed to those with multiple hits,” he said.

That’s because the athletes suffering the smaller, repeated hits tend to shake it off and get back into the game. But they are usually injured again before the first damage has a chance to heal, Phillips said.

If a parent suspects his or her child has a concussion and they can’t get immediate medical care, the best course of treatment for the child is brain rest, Phillips said.

“You need as much energy as possible to go to that area of the brain to heal it,” he said. “So, no texting. No computers. No TV. No reading.”

They should have a medical professional check them out. Then, if they need continued treatment, they can seek a modified educational plan to help them heal, Phillips said.

For instance, they may need more time to complete homework assignments.

With concussions taking center stage in recent months, especially with the National Football League, there have been some fears that focusing so much attention on the problem will weaken sports. But no one is saying that athletes should be less competitive, Phillips said. They simply need to learn the proper techniques for the sport and to pay attention to their health.

“They can still be aggressive. They can still want to win. That’s part of sports,” Phillips said. “The key is safety for the kids.”

What: A seminar on the Rising Dangers of Concussion: What coaches, parents and young athletes need to know
When: Oct. 22, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (meal is provided)
Where: Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Wellness Plaza
Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call (813) 929-5432 or visit, www.FHWesleyChapel.org/events

About concussions
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides this information to help lower the risk of concussions and to treat suspected concussions.

For athletes
To minimize risks for concussions:
• Follow the rules of safety and the rules of the sport.
• Be sure protective equipment fits properly and is well maintained.
• Wear a helmet to reduce the risk of serious brain injury or skull fracture, but be aware there are no concussion-proof helmets.
• Avoid hits to the head.
If you suspect you have a concussion:
• Don’t hide it. Report it. Trying to “tough it out” can worsen symptoms. Do not let anyone pressure you to continue playing if you suspect you have a concussion.
• Get checked out. Only a health care professional can tell you if you have a concussion and can tell you if it is safe for you to return to play.

For parents
If you suspect your child has a concussion:
• Seek medical attention right away.
• Keep your child out of play.
• Tell your child’s coach about any previous concussion.

For coaches
If you suspect your player has a concussion:
• Remove the athlete from play.
• Inform the athlete’s guardians or parents.
• Make sure the athlete is evaluated by a health care professional.
(When reporting a suspected concussion, a coach should include this information: The cause of the injury; whether the athlete lost consciousness and if so, for how long; any seizures or memory loss by the injured athlete; and, any previous concussions, if known).
• Keep the athlete out of play until medically cleared to return.

Boothe kicking cancer for herself, unborn child

October 9, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Ashley Boothe has been engaged in a battle with breast cancer for the last seven months, but she wasn’t just fighting it for herself.

The Wesley Chapel woman was also battling for her unborn child.

On Oct. 4, at 10:17 a.m., she won part of the fight. She delivered her son, Scott Gregory Booth III. He weighed 4 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 18.5 inches long.

“Mom and dad and everything is fine,” said Lilly Fontanez, a family friend, shortly after the baby’s birth.

Ashley Boothe is not your typical mom. Not only did she deliver a healthy son on Oct. 4, but she had to fight breast cancer as well. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

But the little boy’s birth was hardly a sure thing.

When Boothe was just a couple weeks into her pregnancy, she found a lump in her left breast.

“I was putting lotion on to prevent stretch marks and I felt it. It was like, ‘That’s weird,’” the 26-year-old said.

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had to make a decision. The doctor had informed her that her pregnancy was still in the early term and she could have an abortion.

Boothe, however, was determined to have the baby.

“I was like, ‘That word is not in my vocabulary. It’s not an option. God didn’t give me this baby for me to terminate him.’”

Boothe, 26, said she made that decision even before she talked to the experts at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute who told her they could work around her pregnancy.

The decision still carried increased concerns about her health and about the pregnancy. So, Booth told her husband Scott she would understand if he couldn’t support her decision.

“I gave him an out card,” Boothe said. “He said, ‘Are you kidding me? You’re crazy. I’m not going anywhere.’”

Boothe made the overture, she said, because she understands that some people just aren’t built to handle these kinds of challenges.

“They can’t,” Boothe said. “It’s not that they’re not a strong person and it’s not that they’re not a good person. They just can’t bear to see people go through something like that.”

But her husband stood strong.

Choosing to have the baby has affected her cancer treatment and the baby’s birth date.

“I had a total, radical modified mastectomy,” she said, noting it had to be done in the second trimester of her pregnancy.

She has also undergone four sets of chemotherapy, where she received strange looks from people when they saw a pregnant woman on her way to treatments. While both Boothe and her husband had doubts, experts told her the type of chemotherapy she received during her pregnancy would not harm the baby.

She had to have her baby delivered at around 33 weeks, instead of the typical 40, in order for her to stay on track for her treatments. That early delivery could cause complications, but Boothe said his development is now in God’s hands.

Yet, her faith hasn’t always been this rock-solid.

Boothe struggled with it after her mother, Donna Mullens, was struck by cancer for a second time.

“I kind of had a falling out with the Lord when my mom was sick,” Boothe said.

She was a teenager when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer the first time.

“When she got sick the first time, she didn’t even want to tell me because she didn’t want me to get upset and she didn’t want to hurt me,” Boothe said.

Her mother’s cancer returned in 2007, and by then Boothe had married and moved to Hawaii with her husband. Her parents had planned to visit her there, but had to cancel the trip when her mom got her diagnosis.

Instead, Boothe returned to Lutz to help her mother.

“She had a rough time,” Boothe said. “It was hard for me to watch her go through that.” After Mullens recovered once again, Boothe got involved in Relay for Life. She also became heavily involved in the Land O’ Lakes Sun Rays Concert for a Cure.

And now friends are getting together to raise money for Boothe with the Kicking Cancer for Ashley fundraiser. The event takes place on Oct. 12 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Fraternal Order of Police Grounds, at the corner of Bell Lake Road and Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

If anyone deserves help, it’s Boothe, Fontanez said.

“When she found out that I had a (Relay for Life) team, she baked her heart out,” Fontanez said. “She went ahead and she did seven or eight cakes. She did chocolate-covered strawberries, candies, cookies.”

In fact, Boothe made so many goodies that they were giving them away at the end of the event.

“She’s done baking every year. She’s been on our team for five years,” Fontanez said.

While Boothe is grateful for the help, she wishes she were on the giving, rather than the receiving, end.

“I want to be independent. I want to do it on my own,” she said. “This time, I just can’t. I don’t have the resources. I don’t have the money. I don’t have the energy.”

Boothe is humbled by the support that others are showing her.

The Fit Body Boot Camp is having a fundraising event for her with a two-week boot camp pass to its gym for a $33 donation. A personal trainer there also will match the money raised up to $3,000, and is giving away prizes to existing or new clients that participate in the fundraiser.

Firefighter Charities of Pasco Inc. and the fire chief are also helping.

“We are now allowed to wear pink duty shirts as we work,” said Jesus “J.J.” Martinez, president of the charitable organization. “The money we raise from the shirts will be going to Kicking Cancer for Ashley.”

Boothe said she is in awe by the kindness of others.

“So many people are so giving. All of these businesses that are willing to donate, I’m just very grateful,” she said.

She knows the road ahead will be challenging.

She must undergo additional chemotherapy treatments and surgeries. And, it’s too soon to tell if her newborn son, who has been receiving special care since his birth, will face future medical challenges because of his premature birth.

Despite the uncertainties, Boothe said she feels fortunate.

“People are still worse off than me,” she said. “They’re still dealing with worse things than I’m dealing with. As long as I have my family and my husband and my God, I don’t worry anymore.”

Government shutdown could soon victimize poor children, infants

October 9, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Lacy White followed the latest news from Washington, D.C. closely over the past few weeks as Congress and the President haggled over spending measures that led to a federal government shutdown.

Not only was her husband a civilian contractor at MacDill Air Force Base who would lose his paycheck if a shutdown were to occur, but both were eight weeks into caring for an infant they’ve fostered since she was born, and were depending on the government to help pay for the baby’s needs.

“This is a double whammy for us, and it’s frustrating,” the former Land O’ Lakes resident said. “We need the checks to help with the baby’s formula, and without those, we’d have to pay out of our own pockets. But if my husband is working without pay, too, then we really have to dig to get the money.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture website, which is the home for information on the federal government’s WIC program to help support women, infants and children, shows only an error page to anyone trying to visit. The federal government shutdown has created a potentially serious problem for poor families, who depend on government assistance to feed their children.

White receives support through WIC, the federal assistance program more formally known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Individual states like Florida administer the program using federal dollars — money that is now missing because of the federal government’s inability to keep the financial coffers open.

Communication between the government and WIC recipients has been nonexistent. Even visiting the website of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the federal program, brings up a page telling visitors that “due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available.”

So, White and others like her have to turn to the news.

“As far as I have read, WIC is shut down, and we will no longer be getting her formula checks,” White said of her foster baby. “No one has contacted us. No one has let us know. We have to go by word of mouth.”

But checks are continuing to be cut, even as federal dollars stop, said Deanna Krautner, a spokeswoman for Pasco County. She referred more detailed questions to the state level, who in a statement said Florida Department of Health “continues to monitor the situation in Washington, D.C., and the department will be able to continue WIC services for the foreseeable future.”

When pressed further about where those dollars are coming from, Department of Health spokeswoman Denishia Sword said the state has put together temporary operating dollars, including reallocated federal funding, USDA contingency funds and infant formula rebates.

Yet, those contingency funds won’t last long. Bruce Alexander, communications director with the USDA, told Forbes magazine that if the shutdown is not resolved before October ends, there may not be sufficient money to keep the program going.

The USDA typically receives $7 billion to run programs like WIC nationally, but the program’s contingency fund is just $125 million — enough to run the program for six days.

White’s family, luckily, has put money away for a rainy day, and only collects WIC because she has a foster baby. Yet, families that solely depend on WIC won’t have those options, and she fears children not just in the Tampa Bay area, but across the country, will suffer.

“We would typically spend $100 a month on formula, and that’s just to feed her,” White said. “There are a lot of expenses involving children, and families who live in poverty would not be able to do this on their own.”

If her family ran into problems, White said her church will be available to help. But there may be only so much charity groups can do — especially if so many families end up in need, said Thomas Mantz, chief executive of Feeding America Tampa Bay. While the organization does not necessarily provide the same services as WIC, if families have to suddenly pay for items like formula, they may have to make cuts in other areas — like food.

“Any time there are challenges in the economic environment, one of the choices people will often make is the choice of food,” Mantz said. “They have to pay a medical bill, or they have to get their car running to get to work, or they have to pay for their lights or rent. Any time those choices have to be made, these folks have to go without food, and seek food assistance elsewhere.”

Feeding America will move 40 million pounds of food in its 10-county service area this year, but that is still not enough, covering less than 50 percent of the need. And if the government shutdown continues, that will be even more assistance the group will have to be ready to supply.

Congress and the President getting back on the same page couldn’t come too soon, White said. The government needs to get back to work, and start paying for these much-needed social programs.

“My husband has to get up every day to go to work without a paycheck, yet these guys are up there still paying themselves while we are all just waiting,” White said. “Something needs to be done.”

After cancer diagnosis, community runs for Keppel

October 2, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Kris Keppel is never one to give up.

Always a fighter in his 20 years as a coach of the Land O’ Lakes High School cross-country team, he now is facing an even tougher battle — pancreatic cancer — and his team, school and community are rallying around him to notch yet another big win.

“Life has definitely turned on a dime,” said Karen DeHaas, the coach of the Gators’ girls’ cross-country team. Better known as “Mima” to the runners because of her granddaughter’s influence on the team, DeHaas was one of the first to find out about Keppel’s diagnosis just a little more than two weeks ago.

“I cried so much,” DeHaas said. “You don’t know how much I cried. I’d be lost without him.”

The cross-country teams of Land O’ Lakes High School don ‘I run for Keppel’ shirts in honor of Coach Kris Keppel, who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Breaking the news to the rest of the team was hard, especially when Keppel could not be at his first cross-country event in the two decades he’s been a coach. But he was still there, thanks to technology, as he watched the first runners cross the finish line thanks to a FaceTime video feed from someone’s smart phone.

The runners, who have never felt abandoned by Keppel over all these years, were going to stand by him, too.

Two of DeHaas’ runners, Carolyn Estrella and Mary-Kathryn Guenette, got together and designed “I run for Keppel” T-shirts. Complete with a purple ribbon, representative of those who are fighting pancreatic cancer, the girls have already raised more than $1,000 for Keppel’s family. And they plan to add even more.

“Coach Keppel always cancelled doctor’s appointments in the past just so he doesn’t miss practice, so when he didn’t cancel one appointment for a practice, we knew something was wrong,” said Estrella, a junior at Land O’ Lakes High School. “The next day after that missed practice, we found out he had cancer. It was hard for all of us.”

Estrella and Guenette had 100 shirts printed right away, which the entire cross-country team donned in his honor last Friday, and DeHaas is confident that the two can actually sell more than 1,000 after it’s all said and done. Each one costs $15, and the proceeds go to Keppel.

“There are so many coaches that have already stepped up,” DeHaas said. “We have this big invitational coming up, and I have had phone calls from coaches in Brandon, Tampa, Hernando, all the surrounding counties. I can’t believe all the compassion and support that I have received from all these coaches.”

For Guenette, the cancer diagnosis hit closer to home. Her younger brother, Spencer, battled brain cancer at a very young age. But he also proved that the fight is quite winnable, and now at 14, is in remission.

“I know what the Keppels are going through right now, and it’s a tough time,” Guenette said. “My parents were really proud that we stepped up and made a difference (for Keppel). It’s a good way of coping.”

There is no such thing as an “easy” cancer to be afflicted with, but pancreatic cancer is aggressive. In 2013, the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 45,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, evenly split between men and women. Treatment ranges from chemotherapy and radiation to surgery.

All of that will require a lot of attention and energy on Keppel’s part, but DeHaas knows that he’ll still find a way to influence the runners he has led for so many years.

“He’s hoping that even if he has to be pushed in a wheelchair, he’s going to be out there watching regionals,” DeHaas said. “I told him he could use my chair, which has a big umbrella on it to protect him from the sun. Either way, if there is any chance he can make it out there, he’ll be there.”

The “I run for Keppel” shirts are available to the general public as well, with proceeds benefitting the Keppel family. To order, email — that’s “carolyn” followed by a zero, two ones and “jr” — or visit the athletics department social media page at Facebook.com/lolhsgators.