I was born and raised in south central Pennsylvania, in York. My dad has been the executive chef for the Wellspan Health system for 25+ years, and my mom has been a part of numerous departments within Wellspan for nearly 20 years. Like my dad, I take delight in cooking and trying foods of all origins and flavor types. I have also inherited an enthusiasm for weight training and fitness from my dad, who once was an aspiring bodybuilder. My mom has gifted me with exposure to the health professions over the years, and is a huge part of my decision to pursue a career in physical therapy. Another passion of mine is music and music performance. As a student might observe an instructor, I picked up a love for music from my dad watching him play bass guitar as a kid. Currently, I play bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and drums. I have been involved in several bands and now primarily develop my musicianship playing alongside my dad on the drums. I am developing a love for travel and outdoorsmanship, being fresh from a 23-day backpacking trip across Europe with several friends, and am constantly seeking challenge and new experience.

Essay: Prosthetics

The once obscured nature of disability, which has impacted the lives of many through time, has become an evolving process of discovery and innovation. As new insight uncovers the mechanisms and manifestations of disabling conditions, brilliant minds conceive tactics that offer quality of life to those affected that, at one time, may have seemed inaccessible. Numerous therapeutic practices, mechanical technologies and societal accommodations have blazed a path for a disabled individual to live freely and without hinderance. While there is still more for mankind to understand and apply to disabilities that remain misunderstood, enormous progress has been made in understanding and treating disability. One particular disability treatment that stands out as unequivocally impactful and effective for amputees, amelias and limb ablation is the use of prosthetic limbs.
To understand what distinguishes the use of prosthetics as a prodigious accomplishment in the treatment of disability, it is useful to first ask: what is the goal of treating physical disability? Several motivations can be named in response, however many seem to point to a common theme: improved quality of life through restoration of independence. The educational and therapeutic processes that go into ministering to physical disability work towards developing a degree of independence. This can be seen through the cutting-edge technologies developing around those who use a wheelchair, those who have a mobility impairment and those who have a neuromuscular disability. In this regard, there is no equal to the effectiveness of using prosthetics.
The significance of prosthetic limbs has roots further back in history before modern medicine's advancements. In the not-so-distant past when an individual sustained a trauma resulting in the loss of a limb, there was very little hope for survival, much less a return to a previous level of function. Amputation was regarded as a last resort for the spread of gangrene and on the battlefield, amputations became synonymous with other forms of emergency medicine. The progress of prosthetics followed in suit, where primitive amputation methods were met by similarly primitive implementations of prosthetics. As technology and medicine improved, individuals were not only more likely to survive amputation, but had a chance at receiving a device that would help restore some of their ability prior to the trauma. Dating back to the Punic wars, there is evidence that the survivors of amputation were able to utilize prosthetics effectively. Past and present, the impact of prosthetics is undeniable.
The complexity of the human body and its systems makes directly addressing some disabilities a task that is yet out of the realm of our understanding. The implementation of prosthetics, however, is a tactic that is very direct and effective in restoring independence and functionality. One example of the effectiveness of prosthetics can be seen in athletes of Olympic and Paralympic calibers, where their respective record-holding performances in events such as the 100-meter and 200-meter dash differ by little more than a second (Usain Bolt 100m dash-9.63 seconds, Jonnie Peacock 100m dash- 10.60 seconds). The difference-making effect of prosthetics extend far beyond athletics, where the immensely advanced technology behind today's prosthetics can even allow the user to synchronize their nervous system's electrical activity with specialized equipment in the prosthesis to have control over the movement.
In the realm of working with and treating disability, there are few approaches that so directly provide a solution like the use of prosthetics does. In the present day and in the depths of history, prosthetics have helped accomplish the primary goal of working with disabilities: promote increased quality of life through independence. The future is a bright and active one for the increasing complexity of prosthetics, and will undoubtedly be as much of a difference maker as it has been through history.