Heart Heroes

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People who have disabilities from medical conditions, accidents, or even the aging process face challenges everyday.  Home Access Solutions works to minimize the barriers within our homes.  We work with people we consider to be heroes because they are determined to life fully and take action to make things better for themselves and others.

Recently we met Sondra and Kitty, two mothers who saw a need and stepped up to recognize Heroes within their family and circle of friends and it has blossomed into a vibrant organization, Heart Heroes.

CHD stands for "Congenital Heart Defect" and is an anomaly of the heart that is present at birth.  CHD causes one or more portions of the heart to develop abnormally.  There is no know cause for CHD, however it is the #1 birth defect and affects 1 in every 85 babies.  Twice as many children die from CHD each year than from all forms of childhood cancers combined.  Some babies may be diagnosed before or at birth, some not until day, week, months, or even years later.  Undiagnosed CHDS cause many cases of Sudden Cardiac Death in young athletes.  There is no cure, only lifelong treatment.  Early diagnosis is the key to survival.  Please tell your doctor, family and friends about this information and ask about newborn screening programs.  You might save a life!

These children laugh, play and enjoy life just like any child; however, what makes them our heroes is that they have experienced life-saving heart operations - unlike most children.  One would never know these children have endured lengthy hospitalizations and miraculous medical interventions.

Undergoing these complex medical procedures is a daunting experience even for adults.  For children, being alone without their family to comfort them amidst a crowd of medical professionals is  scary.  Heart Hero Capes were created  with the hope that all children visiting the hospital or their cardiologist will feel invincible wearing their cape – have super-hero powers - and that their parents will be comforted knowing that the arms that always protect them are momentarily being substituted with the super powers of the cape.

After seeing their children face the challenges of heart operations and cardiology appointments the moms of these heart heroes decided to create the opportunity for all children with CHD to have a Heart Hero Cape.

Go to the Heart Hero's website to learn more about the organization and to support Heart Heroes with your donation, or to request a cape for your own Heart Hero. 

HETRA Hippotherapy

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Hippotherapy

Hippotherapy  literally refers to treatment or therapy aided by a horse.  Hippotherapy promotes the use of the movement of the horse as a treatment strategy in physical, occupational and speech-language therapy sessions for people living with disabilities. Hippotherapy has been shown to improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor development as well as emotional well-being.

While Hippotherapy relies on the natural motion of the horse, the relationship of rider and horse, and the skills of the therapist to select and apply the activities in a goal driven therapeutic way, there is often a place for lifting  technology to help get a person with a disability onto the horse safely and with dignity.

HETRA
HETRA stands for Hearltland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy. Their mission is to improve the quality of life both physically and emotionally of adults and children with disabilities through equine assisted activities. It was started in Omaha in 1989. They have grown in the past 20 years to 17 therapy horses, 12 NARHA certified instructors and over 90 students.


HETRA offers therapeutic riding, hippotherapy, therapeutic carriage driving, public riding lessons and Horses for Heroes which helps veterans of any age and type of disability.

Please visit their website at www.hetra.org or go here to get in contact with them for more information.

Therapeutic Horseback Riding
The patented SureHands Body Support is natural for transferring individuals from their wheelchairs directly onto the horse's back. Many riding programs around the world have found this to be the easiest and safest way to make this difficult transfer.

As the individual is lowered the natural separation of their legs makes it ideal for straddling the horse's back and lowering directly onto the saddle. And even when the thigh supports are removed, the body support cups maintain the lateral stability of the individual. This gives everyone the opportunity to wait until the perfect moment to release the body support and allow the individual to ride away.

SureHands track systems and other SureHands options allow individuals to be raised very high and effortlessly... making this the winning solution for hippotherapy programs.
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If you have questions about SureHands lifts for riding horses therapeutically or recreationally or for more mundane things like being able to get in and out of your bathtub, just give us a call.