HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN

Happy Birthday Ann. "Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

BIONIC CAT

LONDON (AFP) – A cat which lost both back paws after a traumatic accident involving a combine harvester has regained a spring in its step after being fitted with prosthetic limbs.

In a groundbreaking surgery carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick, a Surrey-based veterinary surgeon, the custom-made implants "peg" the ankle to Oscar's foot and mimic the way in which deer antler bone grows through skin.

The prosthetic legs, called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps) were developed by a team from University CollegeLondon, led by Professor Gordon Blunn.

"The real revolution with Oscar is [that] we have put a piece of metal and a flange into which skin grows into an extremely tight bone," Fitzpatrick said of the operation which took place last November.

"We have managed to get the bone and skin to grow into the implant and we have developed an 'exoprosthesis' that allows this implant to work as a see-saw on the bottom of an animal's limbs to give him effectively normal gait," he added.

The veterinary surgical team took three hours to insert the pegs by drilling into one of the cat's ankle bones in each of the back legs.

The Itap technology has already been used to create a prosthetic for a woman who lost her arm in the July 2005 London bombings.

Oscar's recovery will feature as part of a six-part BBC One documentary series, The Bionic Vet, starting later this month.

Ball Game

Here is a picture of Kelsey, Sarah and Courtney. My family went to see Dan play baseball at Fergus Falls last night. It was fun to see Dan, Laurie, Eric, Jennifer and the girls. The game was a little lopsided but we had fun. Hope Dan's hand is ok.

SISTERS

Warren & Ann went to New Ulm on June 5th for a graduation reception for Jerry's step daughter. Warren's cousins, Jill, Jerry, Joelle and Kevin were there also. Here is a picture of Darlene and her sisters. Dale and Darl stayed home in Jackson. Front row sitting, Doris. Back row left to right, Dolores, Dorothy, Darlene. It was great to see everyone.

Sad Day II

Jeremy Gillitzer

Sarah met Jeremy when they were both patients at Methodist Hospital. They instantly became friends. Jeremy passed away on Tuesday. Sarah will miss him. Here is a link to his story.

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/06/jeremy_gillitze.php