Tapped In
A New Shoe Move
Reading a book. Sipping coffee. Playing cards. Some activities are best done seated. Dancing typically isn’t one of them.
Enter Westlake’s Melissa Renner. The owner of Active for Life Fitness found that many of her older fitness clients and others with disabilities enjoyed tap dancing but were unable to participate because of limited mobility. So she invented a shoe cover that’s easy to slip on over both regular and orthopedic shoes. The best part? It’s got metal tap discs on the bottom that permit users to tap dance from the security of a chair.
Renner also invented a mitt with hand taps for people who are unable to use their legs or feet.
“I’ve witnessed seniors suffering with Alzheimer’s and dementia go from non-verbal and seemingly unaware of their surroundings to tap dancing while seated — all in one class. The stories and examples are moving. And after the isolation this population has endured due to COVID, I’d like to … spotlight how significant dance is for the mind and soul,” Renner says.
You can find Renner’s products at activeforlifefitness.com
Keven Scarpino
Keeps His Ghoul
Like a lot of kids, Keven Scarpino was part of the first generation of television viewers, and early TV in Northeast Ohio was some of the best in the country.
Scarpino’s first autograph was from his hero, Ernie “Ghoulardi” Anderson, and Keven made up his mind that he wanted to be an entertainer, too. He developed a character, a horror host, who was quick to tell his audience just how bad his “dumpster-to-screen” films were but added his own comedy bits to keep people watching.
“The Son of Ghoul” show premiered on Canton’s WOAC. Scarpino never thought it would last more than 13 weeks. That was on June 13, 1986, and since that time, he’s never been off the air.
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In a year that none of us could have ever imagined, we’ve had to find new ways to accomplish our goals and find success. That’s exactly what Bev Bedol did when she was sidelined by injury. Bev said a few falls did it.
“The first time I was walking across Euclid Avenue for a meeting and I stepped into a pothole. I’ve never broken or dislocated anything but I did deep muscle damage,” she explains. “I kept walking two miles a day though, and I made it worse.”
Love of her daily walking routine led her to research options. “I first heard about The Peter B. Lewis Aquatic & Therapy Center from a friend and from my doctor,” she says.
When the pandemic hit, she learned the Center was also offering Telehealth Therapy as a safe and comfortable alternative. Bev admits at first, she thought therapy over a computer sounded a bit more difficult than it turned out to be.
“I could connect my computer with the Center, and my therapist Michael Groesch walked me through it, and he was right there with me. He was on time and I was on time, because I was at my home and I didn’t have to leave the house. Michael was perfect in going over everything with me and what I had to do, and viewing me doing it and making it right,” she recalls.
She has now returned to the Center for therapy and the combination has proven effective. “Oh my gosh, yes, I’ve seen improvement. I can get up and walk, and I’m not walking two miles a day yet, but I am almost at a half a mile now. ”
Bev’s advice for sticking with therapy: “The truth is, if you stop, you go backwards.
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