Fit As A Fiddle Dr. Sneha Gazi

With the wonders of technology in healthcare come tremendous improvements in patient outcomes and quality of life. On today’s episode, we have two phenomenal guests chatting with us about osseointegration in the field of prosthetics, which helps individuals with limb deformities such as amputations move and function more optimally.


Haris Kafedzic is an American Board Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist and Eschen’s lead Manhattan Prosthetist and Residency Director. Dr. Robert Rozbruch is an orthopedic surgeon, the Chief of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service since 2005, and Director of the Limb Salvage and Amputation Reconstruction Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). 


On the show, our guests talk about the role of a prosthetist and an orthopedic surgeon along with the various other practitioners like physical therapists that contribute to a patient’s care. They discuss typical patient cases like individuals with leg length discrepancies or limb amputations of all kinds. Currently, the United States’ medical system hasn’t fully caught up with the advancements in the field of prosthetics, which makes it difficult to refer appropriate patients to the right places. Both Haris and Dr. Rozbruch advocate for building awareness around osseointegration as they celebrate their patients’ success stories. 


Dr. S. Robert Rozbruch, after graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania, attended Weill Medical College of Cornell University from which he graduated with honors in research. Residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at HSS was followed by two fellowships. He did specialized training in Trauma as an AO fellow at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Additional training in adult and pediatric limb lengthening followed at the Maryland Center for Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction. He is Professor of Clinical Orthopedic Surgery at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He is a member of several national medical societies including fellowship in the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Orthopedic Trauma Association, and The Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction Society (LLRS) of which he was President 2012-2013. He has lectured on his clinical and research works at both national and international meetings and has authored over 150 articles in medical journals and chapters in orthopedic textbooks. He is the editor of 2 major textbooks: Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction Surgery and Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Surgery Case Atlas.


Haris Kafedzic received a Master’s degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.  While attending Northwestern University, he was part of a small group of students selected to travel to Guatemala and provide orthotic and prosthetic care to underprivileged patients. Haris’s personal story has greatly influenced him to focus on prosthetic care.  He started working for Eschen as a dual-discipline resident. Haris has advanced training in many aspects of prosthetic care including myoelectric upper limb prostheses and microprocessor knee and ankle units.  He has worked closely with Dr. Rozbruch the past four and a half years treating upper and lower extremity osseointegration patients.  He is committed to helping every patient achieve their maximum functional potential utilizing the latest technology and technique.  


Connect with them at:
Eschenpo.com
hss.edu/limblengthening.asp
osseointegrationUSA.com

Tameka Mclean, a former foster youth and Motivational Speaker, joins us today in a heartfelt conversation about how she has built an organization to support individuals to thrive no matter their background or life challenges. Tameka shares her story and tips on how she was capable of sustaining herself while having to endure the weight of a heavy load (trials, tribulations, turmoil, and trauma). 


Tameka is the author of the book “11 Steps to Self Sufficiency” and the Founder/Executive Director & CEO of Poppy Muse Inc. Poppy Muse, a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization aiding in the stabilization of young women transitioning out of foster care. The organization's work is led by foster care alumni - the founder, board members, and team all have lived experience in the system. Amidst all of life's challenges, Tameka obtained a Degree in Computer Applications Management, and is also an alumna of LIM (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising). 11 Steps to Self-Sufficiency is a book that has a focus on guiding foster care youth and young adults toward an adulthood of self-sufficiency. 


Connect with Tameka:
poppymuse.org
11stepstoself.com 

While it’s easy for some of our listeners to understand that there is inherent social injustice in the public school system in America, it is still a topic that is fraught with intense political, economical and ethical conversation. What we do know for sure is that there is always room for improvement at schools to progress our future society. Teacher burnout is real and so are statistics that point to increased detention, suspension, and dropout rates amongst children from communities of color. 


Today we have Indu Viswanathan, Ed.D join us today to chat about her 20 years of working in the field of education as a teacher, curriculum developer, teacher educator, and nonprofit research director. While we both felt like we barely scratched the surface conversing about the educational system in America along with the impact of practices of meditation and breathing techniques, there is so much that Indu brings light upon today. Instead of punishing students for behavior, Indu suggests we should be transforming students' outlook. She discusses her research and doctoral work and how it evolved over the years as she delved deeper into the literature. 


Indu’s research focuses on immigration, education, and the transnational consciousness of second-generation Indian American teachers. She examines how American education and media reinscribe colonial-era biases about Hinduism, often actively silencing indigenous Dharmic perspectives and expression. Indu is concerned by how this impacts the lives and identities of Hindu American youth and is committed to generative inter-community engagement.


Connect with Indu at:
https://understandinghinduphobia.org/
Twitter: @indumathi37
Instagram: @indu37 
medium.com/@induv

Music is often a powerful medium for promoting healing and creating activism of all kinds within popular culture. As we move more and more into a world of technology, we can sometimes lose sight of how vast the nonhuman world still is and our impact on our diverse biosphere. On today’s episode, we have Priya Parrotta, a writer, musician and activist dedicated to promoting environmental consciousness across borders. She composes, sings and produces music to convey the magic and power that is possible when people embrace their connections to the Earth and explores themes such as encounter, hybridity and creative resistance. 


Priya was raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico where her experiences with nature, particularly the ocean, shaped her understanding of the universe. She speaks to us on how her research on climate change, geopolitics, and colonialism impacted her music. She dives into how humans have used the natural environment to build wealth for a few elite members of society. She advocates for us to rather understand the role that we play in our ecosystem, how our actions affect other beings, and how we can be active participants in the natural world. Woven into today’s show, we also get to listen to two of Priya’s original musical compositions.


Priya is the Founder and Creative Director of Music & the Earth International. Music & the Earth is an initiative which produces decolonial and multicultural resources for environmental awareness and healing. Priya’s work is informed by her close connections to South Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Latin Caribbean. She authored her first book, The Politics of Coexistence in the Atlantic World, at the age of 25. Her second book project is titled To Dream Again: Imagining Island Solidarity Through Music. Priya has been nominated for the United States Artists Fellowship, and has been recognized internationally for weaving bridges between music and diverse branches of environmental thought and action.


Connect with her:
Priyaparrotta.com
facebook.com/musicandtheearth
musicandtheearth.org/to-dream-again
climatesoul.com
vimeo.com/594219240

The last 2 years shed light on how lack of childcare acutely hurt working mothers. It showed there is no gender equality. It showed that 2 million women left the workforce. But none of this is new. 


The US has policies that do not support working mothers. We have no universal childcare, and women still do most of the physical and mental work of parenting. Half of the gender pay gap is due to motherhood. Fathers still get a pay bonus while 1/3 of US births result in trauma and 1/4 of women experience postpartum depression.


Today I had the privilege of sitting down with one of the founders and the CEO of Phoebe, a place that helps working mothers transition to support their mental and physical health along with their professional development. Phoebe was founded by women who forged successful careers in law, banking, and more and they understand the intensities of high achieving careers and how to make that viable as working mothers in this country.


Emily is a Harvard MBA and an entrepreneur on a mission to close the wage gap and accelerate working mothers all the way to the boardroom. She is the founder of Phoebe, a tech company that radically shifts the paradigm of how women are supported through life’s greatest transitions. Prior to founding Phoebe she had a 13-year career in global finance.  As an Investment Banker, she co-lead large cross-border deals, as Manager of Investor Relations for a multinational beverage company, she held meetings with thousands of investors across the globe. 

You’ve probably come across an orthosis at some point in your life, whether it was an insole for your shoe or a brace for your knee. But there is so much more to the world of orthotics and prosthetics in helping people function and move optimally. On our show today is Andrew Myers, a Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist with over 35 years of clinical experience.


We discuss different types of orthoses, both for the upper and lower limbs, and their uses. Andrew dives into his unique experience working with high level atheletes and how he works closely with physical therapists in the plan of care for return to play. He also talks about the need for proper orthopedic evaluations and how orthotics can help people prophylactically as well. 


Andrew is a graduate of New York University and has been a senior executive for several public and private companies in the orthopedic rehabilitative field.  Andrew owns and operates two organizations, Eschen Prosthetic and Orthotic Labs and New England Orthotic and Prosthetic Systems.  Combined, these two organization have 27 locations across New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts making it one of the largest independent orthotic and prosthetic companies in the Northeast. Andrew’s primary focus has been working with practitioners to deliver clinical excellence and the formation of patient-centric programs which enhance the lives and outcomes of patients. 


Connect with Andrew:
www.eshenpo.com
@eschen_neops_po