April 22, 2009:

Partners in Healing: Plattner Orthopedic Company and Camp Big Sky

We are pleased to announce the creation of a new and hopefully ongoing relationship between Plattner Orthopedic Company and Camp Big Sky. For those of you who have yet to come across Camp Big Sky, allow us to give you a brief rundown of the Camp. Camp Big Sky was established in 2000 and is an outdoor recreation facility fully accessible for people with disabilities. Some of the services offered include fishing, boating, and camping. We at Plattner Orthopedic fully support and recommend our patients to Camp Big Sky to take advantage of this opportunity to reacquaint you with the outdoors.

A human body is more than just a set of vitals, muscles, and organs. In the wake of new medical breakthroughs, the person has been lost in the hustle of cutting edge technology. That is why we believe that quality medical care combines the best of both worlds.

"For years the focus has been on treating the disease and the symptoms, but to enhance medication more emphasis has to be placed on the person," said our head orthotist Tony Plattner.

Throughout the history of prosthetics, this emphasis on the patient has been most clearly demonstrated. From gruesome beginnings rooted in the tragedies of war, the field of prosthetics evolved as a way to ease the transition from pre-life to post-life in terms of use of limbs. The practitioner must therefore, work closely with the patient in order to facilitate the change in lifestyle.

"Patients have choices when it comes to their treatment. But no matter what, they need to understand that the life they had before will never be again. Their new life isn’t worse, just different," Plattner said.

Of course loss of limb affects the patient but it also impacts the lives of the patient's loved ones. Here at Plattners, we believe practitioners must work to ease not only the patient's adjustment but also that of the primary care givers. The fears of the family need to be eased through proper education regarding the maintenance and use of the new limb.

As part of the healing process we encourage our patients to engage in activities they once enjoyed. That is why organizations like Camp Big Sky are so valuable in the recovery process and that is why we are so thrilled to be their partner.

For more information regarding Camp Big Sky, please see the link on our website.

March 16, 2009:

Plattner Orthopedic Company is helping to bring Legacy Five to Peoria for a Fundraising Benefit Concert for the Midwest Food Bank. The Benefit will be held on May 14, 2009 at 7:00 pm at Riverside Community Church.