Physical Therapy

Loss of bone density is a concern commonly associated with the elderly, for whom a simple stumble can easily result in a painful, debilitating fracture. But a variety of other conditions can make low bone density a lifetime challenge, one best addressed as early as possible.

Riding a bicycle comes as second nature to most 15-year-old boys. But for Richie Jacob, it was a major milestone. Three months earlier, Richie couldn't walk. He could barely talk. Doctors gave him a 50 percent chance of survival.

For someone who has been paralyzed from the neck down, the idea of ever walking again, driving a car or even doing something as simple as giving a friend a hug probably seems like a distant dream.

For years, people who suffered spinal cord injuries were told that the first six months of their recovery would paint an accurate picture of how they would live the rest of their lives. If a patient recovered any movement, it would probably be in those first few months and, nearly all experts believed, improvement after two years was impossible.

Little Eric Miller* had a rough start in life. Struggling with severe acid reflux from the time he was just a few days old, he spent much of his first few months shuttling from one doctor to another, enduring countless X-rays, CT scans and other tests. Mom Brenda Baker*, desperate to relieve his discomfort, decided to keep him propped up as much as possible, even putting him in his car seat to sleep. She began to notice that his head seemed larger than normal and tilted to the right.

For the Frost family, the first miracle happened when their family survived a horrific car crash that could easily have ended in tragedy.