Each year, UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center (SRC) selects a patient for the Ambassador of Hope Award. This special honor goes to a disabled individual whose courage and determination inspire hope in others facing the challenges of disability. Jay Fassbender is the 2021 recipient of the award. His story concerns his struggle with the rapid onset of a rare muscular condition.

On Jan. 25, 2021, severe weather rolled through Mississippi and Alabama, destroying homes and causing severe damage in several communities. In Fultondale, the Hernandez family waited in their home for the storms to pass. But when an EF3 tornado touched down close by, Arnoldo Vasquez Hernandez realized his family could be in danger.

For people who suffer a serious injury or medical condition that reduces their mobility, strength, or physical or mental ability, the first goal of treatment is surviving the early stages. A full recovery, however, goes beyond survival and toward regaining everyday physical function. Occupational therapy (OT) is the rehabilitation process that helps patients get back the basic abilities that were affected.

When frail or elderly people suffer bone fractures due to mild trauma to their bodies, we might tend to think of these injuries simply as a common risk of old age. However, these “fragility fractures” – which usually occur in those with weak bone tissue – can be serious and may even lead to death.

The holidays are over, and now it’s training season for the 2020 Mercedes-Benz Marathon — a three-day event that caps off with the full 26-mile run on Sunday, February 16 at Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham.