Residents with
Huntington’s Disease (HD) at
The Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center received a special gift from community members in mid-August: a Broda
chair. This unique wheel chair provides safe, stable positioning for the
resident—enhancing patient safety, comfort, and quality of life.
The Broda chair was donated in memory of a HD warrior and resident, Justin
Fender, who passed away in 2018 at 36 years old after a long battle with HD.
“Justin would have appreciated having a specialized chair like this
and we want others with Huntington's to have the opportunity,”
said Marvin Tabor, a family member who contributed to the chair donation.
Justin’s children Autumn Fuernisen, 13, and Logan Fuernisen, 15,
are members of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America
National Youth Alliance, which is a collection of children, teens and young adults from across
the country who are impacted by HD. They advocate, learn, and fundraise
on behalf of the Alliance, and were selling raffle tickets for a Broda
chair. Autumn and Logan’s grandparents, Terri and Marvin Tabor,
purchased numerous raffle tickets from the kids, who ultimately won it
at the national conference earlier this year.
For those who don’t know, HD is a fatal genetic disorder that causes
the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. Over time, HD affects
the individual’s ability to reason, walk, and speak. Movement disorders
are associated with HD and can include both involuntary movement problems
and impairments in voluntary movements such as:
- Involuntary jerking or writing movements
- Muscle problems such as rigidity or muscle contracture
- Slow or abnormal eye movement
- Impaired gait, posture and balance
- Difficulty with physical production of speech or swallowing.
“Our overall goal at The Legacy is to improve the quality of life
through socializing, quality health care, and creating meaningful relationships,”
said The Legacy Administrative Director of Nursing,
Chelsey Petersen during the donation ceremony. “We don’t have the ability to
choose the health problems that we face, but we are able to choose a great
life while being safe. Thank you for your gracious donation.”
Campbell County Health and The Legacy are grateful to have compassionate
people in the community who are thinking of others. The donation of this
new and specialized chair for residents at The Legacy is a true gift.
As a healthcare facility, and due to infection prevention standards, CCH
is not always able to accept donations of furniture and equipment, but
this Broda chair is brand new. We may not accept gently used items for
residents to use. If you wish to donate items to Campbell County Health,
please contact Community Relations at 307.688.1580.
Pictured from left to right are family members Autumn, Terri, Marvin, and
Logan. In the center is Jenn, a resident at The Legacy who suffers from
Huntington's Disease and will be using the Broda chair.