Page 11 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - May '24

Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens, Page 11
SleepOut Raises from page 10 of the most vulnerable and neglected in Palm Beach County,
visit: thelordsplace.org.
Phillips cycled between incarceration and homelessness Top sponsors who made SleepOut possible include: The Minor Head
until he finally found long-term care and housing through Honorable Ann Brown, Laraine and Michael Stevens, Searcy
Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, PA, Carol and Will
The Lord’s Place. Browne, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Cornelia and Injuries No Small
“I needed to unhomelessness myself, once and for all.
The pain of staying the same became greater than the pain Richard Thornburgh, Sally and Bob Gilbane and OSCWebco.
of changing. And all of a sudden, the people of The Lord’s
Place were there for me. And yes, they saved my life,”
shared Phillips.
While living at the William H. Mann Place for men
in Boynton Beach, Phillips took advantage of all of the
programs and services offered. Today, he is eight years clean
and sober, works full-time at Publix, lives in The Lord’s Place
graduate housing, and gives back and helps others.
Phillips added, “My family is proud of me … my sisters
have found strength in my journey. I’m the first person in
my family to break the mold. And I’m never going back
to that life.” Staff of The Lord’s Place: Rupert Williams, Danzell Madison,
The reimagined program stayed true to The Lord’s Tasha Harris
Place mission and commitment to their clients. While
attendees did not spend the night at the actual event, all
were encouraged to step outside their comfort zone by
sleeping out somewhere other than their bed. Some chose
setting up a sleeping bag on the living room floor and
others slept in a tent in the backyard or on their porch.
SleepOut is a symbolic effort to raise awareness of the
estimated 3,000 men, women, and children without a home
on any given night in Palm Beach County.
Since 1979, The Lord’s Place has been finding solutions
and providing services to take more people off the streets
and into homes. For more information on The Lord’s Place Palm Beach Atlantic basketball players who served as
or to make a donation to support the transformation of lives event volunteers
The traditional candlelight ceremony that occurs at the end of each SleepOut
Experience Dentistry
with a
Woman’s Touch
Cosmetic & Comprehensive Restorative Dentistry
State of the Art & Same Day Restorations
Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen Sedation Available
Joanne Green, D.D.S.
10887 N. Military Trail, Suite 6
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
(561) 622-2815
www.joannegreendds.com
Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry - Cum Laude
Hospital of the University of Penn - General Practice Residency Training
Harvard Dental School - Former Instructor
Boston Brigham and Women’s Dental Group - Staff Dentist
Affair For Seniors
New Treatment For Leaky
Blood Vessels In The Brain
Any knock to the head, be it from a car accident,
slip on the pickleball court, or fall from a chair, is no
small affair. Especially for older adults who experience
head trauma. They are at greater risk of an increasingly
common neurological condition caused by leaky blood
vessels in the brain.
Called a subdural
hematoma, it occurs when
a blow to the head tears
blood vessels between the
brain and the skull. Blood
then leaks, pools and clots
in the space below the
dura mater, the outer most
layer of three protective
membranes surrounding
the brain.
“Even minor head
injuries in seniors can
result in a hematoma
because these bridging Michal Obrzut, M.D.
veins become stretched
and are more fragile as the brain shrinks with age,” explains
Michal Obrzut, M.D., a fellowship-trained endovascular
neurosurgeon with Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital.
A New Understanding
Subdural hematomas occur in up to 25 percent of people
with head injuries, and individuals taking blood thinners
are at increased risk.
Symptoms may include ongoing headache, confusion
and drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, slurred speech and
changes in vision. If the bleeding occurs slowly enough,
the symptoms may not appear for weeks or months. As a
result, an older person may not even recall how their head
“Large subdural hematomas are usually treated with
injury happened.
decompression surgery, which involves drilling a small hole
in the skull and draining the blood, but this has a high risk
of recurrence,” explains Dr. Obrzut. “The approach is based
on the long-held theory that a chronic subdural hematoma
is the result of continued bleeding from the ruptured veins.”
It is now believed, however, that chronic bleeding into
the site of the hematoma may be instead caused by blood
leaking from fragile arteries that develop after the injury
and initial blood clot formation. “These new blood vessels
feed the membrane that forms around the clotted blood,”
says Obrzut.
Innovative Treatment
This new understanding has led to the development
of an innovative endovascular treatment for chronic
subdural hematomas called middle meningeal artery
(MMA) embolization.
“The middle meningeal artery is a large blood vessel that
supplies oxygen-rich blood to the dura mater surrounding
the brain,” says Obrzut. “We use a long, flexible tube
called a catheter to inject a small amount of bioadhesive
gel into branches of the artery that lead to the hematoma.
This cuts off blood supply to the membrane surrounding
the hematoma and prevents rebleeding.”
The team at Weston Hospital has successfully treated
more than 100 patients with this minimally invasive
approach. “In addition to being an effective treatment,
patients enjoy a faster recovery and a lower risk of
complications,” adds Obrzut.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Obrzut or another
neurology specialist at Cleveland Clinic in Florida, call
(877) 463-2010 or visit ClevelandClinicFlorida.org/Neuro
to learn more.
Monday, May 27