MRC News

Have chair, will travel: Former MRC patients say careful planning and some patience cuts down on the hassle of traveling with disabilities

As Sheila Burnham boarded a boat to go scuba diving in Belize, the Madison, Miss., resident could feel her fellow passengers doing double takes.

At the time, tourist destinations were hardly the domain of paraplegic wheelchair users.

“I was a novelty,” she said.

Today, she’s less of a spectacle as she hits the slopes in Colorado or hunts game in the wilds of Africa. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, more people than ever see the sights from the seat of a wheelchair.

But traveling with a disability is still no roll in the park.

A painless partnership: Pain & Spine Center docs Philip Blount and Edwin Dodd collaborate to ensure best possible outcome for patients

Hubert Cliburn of Pearl, Miss., didn’t waste any words when asked what the physicians at Methodist Pain & Spine Center did for him.

“They fixed me right up,” he said.

At 81 years old, Cliburn is semi-retired, but still works part-time at Avis Rental Car. When pain started to interfere with his job, he sought relief by visiting Dr. Philip Blount, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at the center.

“Tiger by the tail”: Dr. Vernon Lin focuses his Type A intensity on bringing more physical medicine and rehab doctors to Mississippi

Dr. Vernon Lin is 6 feet 3 inches tall and has a resume 21 pages long.

But it’s his Type A intensity that got the attention of Dr. Louis Harkey, chairman of the neurosurgery department at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson.

Harkey recently hired Lin as chief of the new Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at UMMC.

“And we found out we have a tiger by the tail,” Harkey said. “He is incredibly aggressive. He visited several times and made plans well before he set foot on campus as an employee.”

Dr. Raechel Percy joins staff of Methodist Pain & Spine Center

Raechel Percy, D.O., has joined Methodist Pain & Spine in Flowood as a staff physician.

She was most recently a resident physician in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Ky.

A summa cum laude graduate of Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich., Percy earned a doctorate in osteopathic medicine at the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in East Lansing, Mich.

Methodist Rehab helps Vicksburg stroke patient make it to Alcorn graduate school commencement

The slow grind of graduate school was over.

After two years of study, Coretta Greathouse of Vicksburg had finally earned her master’s degree in applied science and technology management and was looking forward to commencement ceremonies at Alcorn State University in Lorman.

But 15 days before graduation, the 47-year-old fell victim to a disabling stroke.

“I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t do anything,” she said.

Winona grad overcomes paralysis to walk across stage, receive Holmes Community College diploma

When he ran high school track, 5-foot-tall Stevelyn Robinson used to fly over chest-high hurdles.

But that was nothing compared to his athletic performance at Holmes Community College’s commencement ceremony.

Supported by a rolling walker and the cheers of the crowd, the 23-year-old Winona resident rose from his wheelchair and slowly crossed the stage to receive his associate’s degree.

“You can do it,” someone shouted. And Patricia Oyarce never doubted that he would.

Meadows named Chief Nursing Officer at MRC

Terri L. Meadows of Hazlehurst has joined the staff of Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson as Chief Nursing Officer. Meadows has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. She was most recently chief nursing officer for Merit Health Madison in Canton. Meadows has a bachelor of science degree in nursing and a master’s of health science administration from Mississippi College in Clinton.

Ready for Mayhem: Therapy at MRC helps Ridgeland cyclist bounce back from spinal cord injury to ride in annual Mayhem Century Ride

For a seasoned cyclist like Robert Tierce, riding the 60-some-odd miles from his Ridgeland home to Kosciusko may not sound like a Herculean task.

“I used to ride a road bike anywhere from 60 to 70 miles a time, no problem,” he said.

But now, it is quite a feat. Nearly two years ago his right leg was completely paralyzed by a spinal cord injury from a gunshot wound.

Tierce made the jaunt using a recumbent bicycle, which places the rider in a reclining position.

Bike Crossing’s Mayhem Century Ride to benefit stroke research at Methodist Rehab

On June 10, The Bike Crossing of Ridgeland will host its 6^th annual Mayhem Century Ride, a benefit for Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s Wilson Research Foundation.

“This is a charity ride for a great cause, and it’s for cyclists of all levels,” said Linda Bartley, co-owner of The Bike Crossing.

Riders may choose from four distance options: 25, 50, 62 or 100 miles through the beautiful countryside of Madison County past Lake Cavalier, Lake Lorman, Mt. Leopard, Flora and beyond depending on the chosen distance.

Wal-Mart employees join paralyzed former coworker at Walk & Roll fund-raiser for spinal injury research

Annette Young of Jackson has a heart of gold, say her former coworkers at Wal-Mart in Clinton.

“If anyone fell on hard luck, she’d say: We’ve got to get out on the sidewalk and raise some money,” said Wal-Mart manager Eddie Robinson. “If you needed something done, she was always the one to go to. And it takes a very special person to be thinking of someone else no matter what they’re going through.”

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