my story
By Brandon Klein
Editor’s Note: “My Story” is a first-person column OR a Q&A feature of a New Albany community member that centers on health. Have a story to share? Email bklein@cityscenemediagroup.com. Submissions should be no more than 1,000 words.
Positive Bound
Marburn student keeps perspective about time in wheelchair
Ken and Katie Halfpap pose 10
after spending K-2 in NAPLS. She began the third grade at Marburn. A new school, having to meet new friends and going through surgery not once, but twice, was scary for her. She was a trooper. HNA: How did she handle that experience leading up to the procedures? Did she have any worries about using a wheelchair? SH: A significant fear was how Kathryn would navigate at school away from my care. That fear was quickly dissipated as Marburn’s head of the lower division, Lori VuMiller, met with me one Friday night and mapped out a plan to ensure that all Kathryn’s needs would be met at school. She had a plan to make sure she could go to the restroom with dignity, move between classrooms safely and never feel alone at school. KH: I think she was more afraid of the procedures. She had emergency surgery a couple of years prior. Even though she knew a little of what was coming, especially going under again, she was very brave. We tried the walker but felt that the wheelchair was easier. It made her popular at school. One of her classmates assigned to assist her was so excited and they were able to use the elevator while the rest of the class used the stairs. Katie: I was fearful that the surgery would be painful both during and after the procedure. HNA: How did Katie’s day-to-day change following the procedure? KH: We live in the North Woods, the best neighborhood in New Albany. Her friends, especially her neighborhood friends, all rallied to make her recovery very comfortable. We would wheel around our block. Her dog friend, Poppy, would ride on her lap. www.healthynewalbanymagazine.com
Photos courtesy of Shelley and Ken Halfpap
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ealthy New Albany Magazine heard from Ken, Shelley and Katie Halfpap about Katie’s more than three months of recovery from leg surgeries, most of which was spent in a wheelchair. Katie is a 9-year-old student in the fourth grade at Marburn Academy. Healthy New Albany: What kind of procedure did Katie need, and why? Shelley Halfpap: Kathryn had holes in both of her femur bones, near her knees. Her knees randomly locked while she walked and caused her to fall down. Shelley and Ken Halfpap: It was an issue we had been watching. At first, her primary care pediatrician thought it may be growing issues. Then, on the way back from Lakeside, she took a nasty fall. We took her first to a sports medicine specialist who immediately referred us to Dr. Kevin Klingele, chief of orthopedic surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Of course, he knew exactly what to do. Katie had both knees operated on beginning in August and again in the fall. Katie was very brave. Given she (has dyslexia) and has executive functioning issues, she was starting a new school
