April 5, 2019 by Greenwich Sentinel

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New “Holistic” Pain Management Center is Open JOHN FERRIS ROBBEN

S The first ever GHS Girls Rugby match was played on Wednesday. See initial photos on A4 and online at www.GreenwichSentinel. com with a more indepth story on the remarkable young women next week. S The Board of Estimate and Ta xation approved controversial changes to how projects are financed. See page A6 for letters and OpEd. S The Board of Estimate and Ta xation approved funds for several items during its Monday meeting. $100,000 was approved for design work for the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Station, which needs renovations. The funds were approved with a several conditions. S The BET unanimously accepted a gift of $12,820 f rom t he Greenw ich Hig h School Dia mond Club for a new baseball scoreboard at GHS. They also unanimously accepted a gift of $22,969 f rom t he Greenw ich At hletic Foundation t o s e t up for c a me r a s for Loca lLive, which will stream GHS home games. Funds were also approved for architecture a nd eng i neer i ng work on several school i mprovement proje c t s which are a part of the 2019-2020 budget. S The 45th annua l Greenwich St. Patrick ’s D ay P a r a d e , w h i c h i s produced by the Hibernian Association of Greenwich, took place on Su nd ay, d r aw i ng l a r ge c rowd s to Greenw ich Avenue. The Grand Marshal for t h is yea r’s pa rade wa s Monsignor. J. Peter Cullen. Check out photos from the parade on the back page. S The town of Greenwich will be using a $2 million g ra nt to look at a nd improve traffic in Glenville by an Aug. 1 deadline. The arrival of tolls on the Merritt Parkway and I-95 could increase congestion on roads that are already busy. S Accord ing to data re le a s e d by t h e s t a t e , Western Middle School is ra n ked t h i rd out of a l l midd le schools in Connecticut. WMS was measured on 12 metrics by the Connecticut State Department of Education. WMS is ranked behind a school in Orange that’s only 7-8 grade, and a magnet school in New Britain. S On Monday, a majority of Greenwich Public School students took part in BE HONEST - HONOR THE CODE, a Social Emotional Learning Activ it y t hat helps promote a safe school climate by fostering socialemotiona l sk i l ls and reinforcing the District Norms. Students learned h ow t o b e p e r s o n a l l y and socially responsible, a nd lea r ned about t he i mp or t a nc e of h av i ng values, rules and principles. They were a lso able to identify their own values and principles, or their own Code of Honor. S F i r e f i g ht e r R o b e r t Rot h was promoted to Fire Inspector during a ceremony at the Central Stat ion on Wed nesday af ternoon. For photos, be sure to check out greenwichsentinel.com and our facebook page.

Rick Kral Receives CCFPP Award

Almost 200 people came to the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol (CCFPP) annual event to raise funds for the 92 year-old organization and to honor local businessman and fellow first-responder, Rick Kral. Representative Fred Camillo, also a CCFPP member, presented Kral with a citation, as did Senator Richard Blumenthal. CCFPP, funded in part by the Greenwich Fire Department, relies heavily on donations to support its operations. Last year, the company’s 25 service members voluntarily responded to over 1,000 emergency calls and collectively donated over 5,000 hours to Greenwich and its residents. The original concept of the Fire Patrol dates back to the New York Board of Fire Underwriters of the early 1800’s. Their job was to patrol the streets of New York City in search of fires. If a fire was discovered, they warned people to evacuate. Once on scene, the Fire Patrol assisted in saving heirlooms and valuables. Fire Patrolmen wear red fire helmets to distinguish them at the scene of the fire. Visit www.ccfpp.org to learn more about the organization.

Founder of Restorative Pain Solutions, a pain and wellness treatment center which recently opened in Greenwich.

By Michelle Moskowitz

Pictured: Sebastian Dostmann, Stephanie Dunn Ashley, United States Senator Richard Blumenthal, Award Recipient Rick Kral, Cindy Kral, and Brian Kelly.

Poetry Month Ten cent Robert Frost stamp issued March 26, 1974

By Anne White April, now nipping at the last days of March, will celebrate poets as National Poetry month. The Greenwich Sentinel w ill honor National Poetry month by reprinting a selection of Robert Frost's poems each week. It is especially f itting because Robert Frost worked for a short time at The Lawrence Sentinel newspaper as a reporter. A four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Robert Frost is our quintessential New England poet. He was born 144 years ago this week. His commemorative sta mp, issued 4 4 yea rs ago on the 100th anniversary of his birth, was created from a pencil drawing by Paul Calle

(o f S t a m f o r d , C T ) , b a s e d on a photog raph by Dav id Rhinelander (of Hartford, CT). Beneath the portrait are his name and simply “American Poet.” The year that Robert Frost's sta mp was issued, the New York Ti m es w rote, "Severa l generations of older Americans s t i l l r e me m b e r v iv id ly t he inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. There was Robert Frost, the first poet ever to be taking part in inaugural, ceremon ie s, h is wh ite ha i r blowing in the bitter cold, his eyes blinking in the glare of the wintry sun, as he tried again and again to read a work written especially for the occasion." Frost could not manage his papers against the wind and

so, recognizing there was no walking away without having recited a poem, he set aside the poem he had written for this day and instead recited from memory a previously written and published poem, The Gift Outright. Later he expanded the unread poem, which had been called The Preface, from 42 to 7 7 lines and renamed it For John F. Kennedy: His Inaugural-and presented it to his friend and fellow New Englander, the President, 1962. That same year, he traveled to Russia and courageously

Mueller Spotlights Museums By Richard Kaufman Museums make us think, examine and explore, and stir our curiosity on topics from the arts and history to science and sports. They serve as portals into our past and magnifying glasses into the cultures of others. One Greenwich resident is bringing people around the world closer to museums than ever before. Leslie Mueller, who has lived in town for 30 years, is the creator, producer and cohost of Museum Access. T he show, c u r r ent ly i n Season 2, airs on PBS stations around the countr y (CPT V in Connecticut, check local listings), and takes viewers behind the scenes at some of the country's top museums. Each 30-minute episode (10 episodes per season) features fascinating stories and in-depth conversations with museum experts, and offers footage in areas of museums that guests don't normally see. E d u c a t i o n a n d entertainment are the core aspects of the show, Mueller said. "But we also know that

PHOTO COURTESY OF MUSEUM ACCESS

The Briefing Room

Leslie Mueller at the Field Museum in Chicago, Ill. there are people underserved, c u l t u r a l l y s p e a k i n g ," s h e added. "We're f inding that we're also able to take that i nt i m id at ion f a c tor out o f museums, and show people that these are fun places to go. You can learn something and feel better about yourself, and

you end up being a little more op e n -m i nde d , s om e t i m e s . Mu s e u m s h e l p u s k i n d o f appreciate each other." The show has been so wellreceived that Season 1, which a i red i n 2018, is cu r rent ly available on Amazon Prime.

Please turn to page A10

According to the National Institute of Health, pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined, making chronic pain the most common cause of long-term disability. Dr. Christian Whitney, DO., an anesthesiologist and pain management consultant, recently opened “Restorative Pain Solutions,” a serene and sleekly designed pain and wellness center, located at 4 Dearfield Drive. “I have such empathy for people in pain as I understand it first hand, and know how it trickles down on everything in your life,” explains Whitney, who suffered from severe back pain from sciatica and four herniated discs during his second year at medical school. This crippling pain affected him deeply, both physically and emotionally, which ultimately motivated him to choose the field so he could help others suffering from acute or chronic pain. Whitney, a Yale and Dartmouth trained Board-Certif ied Anesthesiologist, has received numerous awards for his work, including Castle Connolly’s Top Doctor Award and Greenwich Hospital Quality Award. After eight years at Greenwich Hospital as a pain management physician, Whitney wanted to take a more in depth approach to working with his patients. A typical doctor/patient visit lasts about 15 minutes, which he says is not enough time to get at the root cause of one’s pain or learn about how one’s lifestyle habits could be contributing to one’s pain - such as eating an inflammatory diet or performing exercises that

Please turn to page A3

Mismatched Shoes By Richard Kaufman Ther e is no ne e d to do a double take if you see anyone wearing mismatched shoes or socks around Greenwich next Thursday, April 4, the day of the first annual Mismatched Shoe Day. The fundraiser, spearheaded by the VWM Families Foundation, will benefit research and support families who have b e e n a f fe c te d by V W M , or Vanishing White Matter, a very rare neurological condition that destroys myelin, the brain’s white matter. S a m Buck , a n 8 -ye a r- old Greenwich resident who attends Glenville School, was diagnosed with V WM on April 4, 2013. Living with this condition, Buck maintains a positive attitude and likes to express his personality through his clothing. He wears mismatched shoes to Glenville School every day. Participants are asked to donate $10 and wear mismatched shoes or socks to show support for Sam and VWM Families all over the world. They’re urged to snap photos of their attire and tag @vsmff and @samvsvwm on April 4. Glenville School principal, Marc D’Amico, said Sam has inspired the school and the community over the years. “Sam is truly the heartbeat of our school. He is loved by all and inspires each of us every day to be better human beings. His laugh and sense of humor

brings joy to so many. I’ve said before that we, as a school, have learned so much more from Sam than he ever could from us,” D’Amico said. “We as a school will be participating in Mismatch S h o e D ay. We a r e s t au n c h supporters of Sam’s cause and we hope to raise a great deal of money and awareness with this event.” VWM is a chronic and progressive condition that affects the central nervous system and causes neurological symptoms. The genetic disorder is unusual in that periods of rapid and severe deterioration can be caused by minor head trauma, fevers and even anesthesia. Symptoms generally appear i n you n g ch i ld r e n , u su a l ly between 2-6 years old, who were previously developing fairly normally. Symptoms vary from patient to patient as the disease progresses, but can include loss of motor skills, loss of vision, epileptic seizures, vomiting, irritability and comas. There are currently two main research projects, in Tel Aviv and Amsterdam, looking into the workings of the disease. Both projects have made prog ress recently and have identified compounds that might stop the progression of VWM, according to the VWM Families Foundation website. For mor e i n for mat ion on VWM and to register/donate for Mismatched Shoe Day, go to vwmff.org/mismatched-shoeday-2019/.