Lynbrook Restorative Therapy & Nursing hosts a special surprise

Chris St. Remy received a special surprise at Lynbrook Restorative Therapy and Nursing on Feb. 27, when he was presented with a new wheelchair that will enable him to continue to play basketball.

During a news conference at the facility, Remy’s girlfriend, Myrlie Chaundry, shocked him by rolling out his new wheels.

Also taking part in the event were Eddie Lopez, coach of the Long Island Kings wheelchair basketball team, Dr. Paulinder Rai, who serves as director of the facility’s Amputee Program, Lisa Penzinger, Restorative’s special projects coordinator and Administrator Yiddy Eisen.

Last March, Lynbrook Restorative Therapy and Nursing announced that it became the first facility of its kind on Long Island to launch an amputee support group, giving its participants a chance to bond with other amputees and learn that there is life after limb loss.

The Amputee Coalition of America estimates that there are about 185,000 new lower-extremity amputations each year in the U.S., and about 2 million people in the country are amputees.

At a news conference updating the public about the support group last September, Penziner announced future plans for the group, which meets on the second Wednesday of every month at noon at the facility, 243 Atlantic Ave., in Lynbrook. The group, which takes part in various activities, started with two members and now has more than a dozen. Its meetings are intended to foster a positive place where amputees can connect, offer one another advice and learn how to live life with the greatest freedom possible, Penziner said.

“The program began as an inpatient program with amputees from local hospitals,” she said. “But then once they were discharged, there was nothing in the area for amputees to get together and spend time together to talk about things.”

Now there is a place to do so in Lynbrook. For more on the support group, visit lynbrookrehab.com.