LIFE IN ROCK COUNTYgpgsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/vol3issue3...brought 19 paintings to the gallery, and in less than two months he had sold all but four. Additionally,

life in rock county 1

L I F E I N R O C K C O U N T Y

Fall/Winter 2013

2 Great People. Great Stories. | fAll / winter 2013

LIVE WELL. WE’LL INSURE YOU DO.

Whether you are a single person or are responsible for your family’s health care coverage, choosing the right health insurance plan is an important decision to make. At MercyCare, we’re dedicatedto helping our members stay healthy,get well and live better. Our plans giveyou access to an extensive network oftop doctors at an affordable price.

Let us help safeguard your health by calling today.

O C TO B E R 1B EG I N S H O P P I N G FO R

H E A LT H COV E R AG E JA N UA RY 1 COV E R AG E B EG I N S >> Call us today: 800.895.2421 >> Live chat: MercyCareHealthPlans.com

p l a n s f o r e v e r y o n e . i n d i v i d u a l s > > s e n i o r s > > f a m i l i e s > > b u s i n e s s e s


LIVE WELL. WE’LL INSURE YOU DO.

Whether you are a single person or are responsible for your family’s health care coverage, choosing the right health insurance plan is an important decision to make. At MercyCare, we’re dedicatedto helping our members stay healthy,get well and live better. Our plans giveyou access to an extensive network oftop doctors at an affordable price.

Let us help safeguard your health by calling today.

O C TO B E R 1B EG I N S H O P P I N G FO R

H E A LT H COV E R AG E JA N UA RY 1 COV E R AG E B EG I N S >> Call us today: 800.895.2421 >> Live chat: MercyCareHealthPlans.com

p l a n s f o r e v e r y o n e . i n d i v i d u a l s > > s e n i o r s > > f a m i l i e s > > b u s i n e s s e s


Features

06 “the PeoPle’S Gallery”

Raven’s Wish brings art to the masses

11 here, fiShy fiShy “Take a Kid Fishing Day” photo essay

16 breaSt cancer SuPPort at mercy

Two women who have survived breast cancer tell their stories

20 breakinG down barrierS

Janesville Summer Institute links Chinese, American children

26 houSe callS Doctor travels to treat

geriatric patients

31 the riGht kind of Peer PreSSure

Couple loses weight as a team

36table oF contents

40


36 an end to the aGony Mercy doctor relieves woman of chronic pain condition

40 iriSh feSt We gear up for Janesville’s

big bash by talking to three Irish families

46 community calendar

dear reader:

One of my fondest memories from childhood is traveling to Southeast Missouri every year at Thanksgiving to visit my grandparents. Middle school was difficult for me, so my grandparents’ house was a sanctuary — a place where I could read, nap and feel safe. We usually arrived at their house late at night after our seven-hour drive the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. As soon as I walked in the door, I always looked for the three homemade pumpkin pies

cooling in the kitchen, waiting for our feast the next day. Baking the pies was my grandma’s way of showing us she loved us.

My grandmother, who died last month, did not remember these special visits near the end of her life. The last time my husband and I brought our two boys to Missouri to see her, she didn’t even remember who I was. She struggled with dementia for six years, and it was both emotional and frustrating for our family to mourn the loss of her memory while still making sure she received the care she needed. My mother managed my grandma’s affairs during her illness and worked with doctors who did not seem to care about her well-being. They did not spend time talking with her; instead, they wrote a prescription and sent her on her way. Even when my mother was trying to place my grandma in hospice, her doctor wouldn’t return my mom’s phone calls or sign the paperwork. If only my grandma had lived in Janesville and could see someone likeDr. Kelly Fehrenbacher.

Dr. Fehrenbacher, a geriatrician with Mercy Health System who is featured on page 26 of this issue, is one of a rare breed of doctors who makes house calls. She takes the time to visit homebound patients in their homes, talks to their caregivers and makes sure that everything she does is in their best interest. For patients who suffer from dementia like my grandma, she is a godsend.

There are many doctors who provide wonderful care for their elderly patients without making house calls. But Dr. Fehrenbacher offers that extra special touch that has made all the difference for many of her patients. And that’s something to celebrate.

As always, please send any story ideas for future issues to [email protected].

Beth Earnesteditor, “Great PeoPle. Great StorieS.”

On the cOver:

Kelly Fehrenbacher, MD,

geriatrician with Mercy

health SySteM, MaKeS houSe

callS For SoMe hoMebounD

elDerly patientS. She iS

FeatureD on page 26.

Visit us at gpgsmagazine.com

we are looKing For

coMMunity photographerS

to SubMit photoS to our

coMMunity photo page.

pleaSe SenD all photoS to

[email protected].

20

the 91-year- Old leprechaun

Tom Kennedy

family pride

Terry and Judy Sheridan

”yearning fOr janesville”

Rep. Paul Ryan


R av e n ’ s W i s h b R i n g s a R t t o t h e m a s s e s

Alicia Reid has turned a frame shop into one of the few fine art galleries in Rock County.


The PeoPle’s galleRy


R av e n ’ s W i s h b R i n g s a R t t o t h e m a s s e s

All you have to do is step inside Raven’s Wish to understand this is not

your typical museum-like, high-minded fine art gallery. The art it displays is of the highest quality, certainly, but the best word to describe the facility is “accessible.”

“I want folks walking by to be able to look in and not be intimidated,” says owner Alicia Reid, who opened the Janesville gallery and frame shop in 2007. “I want to be known as the ‘People’s Gallery.’”

Being a “people’s” gallery means displaying and selling art that appeals to a wide variety of tastes — and budgets. At Raven’s Wish, you can buy a scarf for as little as $12, or adorn your walls with a $2,400 original acrylic painting created by an acclaimed local artist.

It’s a place where a budding young artist with autism can find a market for his unique drawings and create a business for himself.

an eclectic caReeR Path

Running her own art gallery wasn’t always Alicia’s dream. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education in Arkansas, taught music a few years and then attended graduate school at the University of Utah for geography. She moved to Janesville to be near a friend who worked here, and found a job working at Rotary Botanical Gardens as the education and volunteer coordinator.

It was her part-time job at Myers Frame & Stitch, however, that brought out Alicia’s passion for art. When the store offered her a full-time job, she jumped at the opportunity. “It seemed my interests were leading me

more in the art direction than in the nature direction,” she says.

She worked for the Myers family 10 years. When they retired, neither of their children wanted to run the business, so Alicia bought it and became a business owner.

During her years living in Janesville, Alicia had met many professional artists who did not have any public space where they could display their work. She decided to keep the “frame” of Myers Frame & Stitch, but turn the rest of the store into an art gallery and call it Raven’s Wish. She started the gallery working with six artists in 2007; now, more than 70 artists from Rock County and across the country display their work at Raven’s Wish.

Alicia Reid has turned Raven’s Wish — now a fixture on Milwaukee Street in

downtown Janesville — into a place where all passersby feel welcome.

The walls of Raven’s Wish are lined with

top-quality paintings from both local and

non-local artists.


According to Sam Brickman’s mother, contributing artwork to Raven’s Wish has opened up his world.


life in rock county 9 life in rock county 9

Alicia chooses her artists with the help of a small jury of professional artists who look for both high quality and variety. “One of the first questions we ask is, is it unique enough?” says Alicia.

”like a WindoW oPening”

One artist who recently caught Alicia’s eye was Sam Brickman. Sam, 21, a graduate of Craig High School in Janesville, has autism and has been drawing and painting ever since he was old enough to hold a marker. A Craig art teacher who saw his paintings through a Brickman family friend alerted Alicia to his talent. Alicia asked

Sam and his parents if they wanted to do a show at her gallery, and they gratefully accepted the offer. “It was overwhelming,” says his mother, Kathy Brickman. “We were just so thrilled he had an opportunity like this.”

This spring, Raven’s Wish showed Sam’s work for three weeks. He brought 19 paintings to the gallery, and in less than two months he had sold all but four. Additionally, at the show’s opening party, he received commissions for six more paintings.

Sam’s style — drawing a grid and then populating the boxes with paintings

pertaining to a common theme — is appealing to customers, says Alicia. “I have had folks walk in off the street and fall in love with a piece,” she says.

One of Sam’s favorite subjects, the alphabet, has inspired some of his more fascinating pieces. He likes to paint pictures relating to a specific letter of the alphabet and let viewers guess the connection.

“It’s like a little glimpse into how his mind works,” says Alicia.

Now, Sam is contributing a few pieces each month to the gallery. The new business arrangement has allowed

All of Sam’s paintings start with a grid, which he fills with pictures relating to a theme, such as the circus (left) and numbers (right).

As Raven’s Wish has sold Sam’s paintings, he has taken great pleasure in creating even more works of art.


Kathy to see a completely different side of her son. “There was a point in time during the opening where he tried to interact with people,” she says. “People were asking him questions, so he went from the beginning of the line and talked about each of the paintings. My husband and I were stunned that he could comprehend the questions and respond appropriately.”

“For someone whose world had gotten so small,” Kathy continues,

“it was like a window opening.”

a haven foR aRtistsSam is not the only artist who has found opportunity at Raven’s Wish. Other artists have created their own community through the networking events Alicia organizes. She throws several get-togethers each year to celebrate events such as Georgia O’Keefe’s 150th birthday.

She herself has become committed to networking, attending local art shows to spot artists who could fill a niche at Raven’s Wish. In the process, she has encouraged former full-time artists to come back out of “retirement” and dip their toes in the art world again.

And, of course, that has been her goal from the beginning. “More and more, as we make ourselves better known, we get more attention,” says Alicia. “That’s good for me, it’s good for our artists and it’s good for the community.”

Find out more about Raven’s Wish at ravenswish.com.


heRe, fishy fishy There’s nothing like free fishing to bring out the families. Every year, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources declares the first full weekend in June Free Fishing Weekend, which means anyone can fish without a license. In Janesville, the city’s parks and recreation department and Blackhawk Musky Club co-sponsor Take a Kid Fishing Day on the Saturday of that weekend.

This year, the 32nd annual Take a Kid Fishing Day took place on June 7. “It’s a community event,” says Shelly Slapak, city recreation director. “Families come and sit with another family, and people bring picnics and buy things from the concession stand.”


Gabe Stephan of Janesville waits for a bite.


Gracie Ford of Janesville shows off her big catch. Addison and Mike Ford worked together to score a big catch.

Jaylee Brusser of Janesville, pictured here with her

dad Brandon, caught a small but wily fish.

Landen Raymond of Janesville found a comfy spot for fishing.


Peter Stephan of Janesville uses his

expert skills out on the river.


14 Great People. Great Stories. | fAll / winter 201314 Great People. Great Stories. | fAll / winter 2013

Landon Belz of Edgerton

waits patiently for a bite.


Carter Raymond of Janesville takes a moment

to ponder life while waiting for a nibble.



bReast canceR suPPoRtat meRcy


Jill FitzRandolph-

Groelle, left, speaks

with Sandra Mascari-

Devitt about the next

steps in her breast

cancer treatment.


a helPing hand foR

bReast canceR Patients A breast cancer diagnosis is jarring enough to make any woman’s mind race. Surgery dates, insurance premiums, disability coverage — all the details can become overwhelming. That’s why Mercy Health System now has two breast health patient navigators who can both literally and figuratively hold a patient’s hand after she hears the dreaded “c” word.

“It’s just an amazing service,” says Jill FitzRandolph-Groelle, 55, who was diagnosed with breast cancer this spring after her annual mammogram.

Jill, who lives in Milton, underwenta lumpectomy on May 7 and hadsubsequent testing performed todetermine whether she neededfurther treatment (all she needed was radiation therapy). Through it all, breast health patient navigator Sandra Mascari-Devitt, CSW, CBPN-I, was in constant contact to help her understand the steps she needed to take.

Jill first met Sandra at the appointment where she set up her surgery. Right away, Sandra told her about two organizations that provide support for women who have been newly diagnosed — After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD) and the American Cancer Society.

“Within two days, I heard from both of those organizations,” says Jill. “I wouldn’t have known about them at all if it had not been for Sandy.”

The biggest stressor for Jill was working with the company that coordinated her short-term disability coverage. The company was taking a long time gathering the information it needed to approve her case, but with just a few calls, Sandra connected the company with Jill’s doctor and helped move the process forward.

“I just try to help connect the dots,” says Sandra, who is herself a breast cancer survivor. “Sometimes when patients are going through the

The last few months have been a blur for

Jill, who was diagnosed with cancer after a

mammogram this spring.

“I am living the job I was born to do,” says breast cancer survivor Sandra Mascari-Devitt of her

role as breast health patient navigator at Mercy Health System.

Jill meets with Kevin R. Kozak, MD, her

radiation oncologist at Mercy Health

System.


difficult period of being diagnosed with breast cancer, there’s a lot on their plate. When you can take something off their plate, it helps relieve some of their stress.”

Sandra, a licensed social worker, works alongside the other breast health patient navigator, Shannon Petter, RT (R) (M), CBPN-I, a respiratory therapist. Their jobs at Mercy were funded by a Susan G. Komen grant. Together, they help patients find funding for their mounting pile of bills and gas cards to help them drive to appointments. They make phone calls to help patients complete paperwork and provide a shoulder to cry on when the women just need to talk.

Jill has a long way to go before she can consider herself cured of her cancer. However, she is comforted knowing she has the support she needs at Mercy. “Sandy has been there for me and continues to be there for me,” she says. “She takes care of things for me even before I know I need them.”

a neW look foR a

canceR suRvivoRNancy Manion has been through the wringer. She underwent a mastectomy on her right breast after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989, and then had open heart surgery in 1994. After all that, she was just happy to be alive, which is part of the reason why having only one breast did not bother her.

It wasn’t that she had never tried breast reconstruction. After Nancy, now 62, completed her chemotherapy in 1990, a surgeon was able to


Nancy Manion is thrilled Dr. Jacob Gerzenshtein was able to reconstruct her breast more than two decades after it was removed.


“i haven’t looked thiS Good Since i waS 38.”

—nancy manion

Nancy discusses next steps with Dr. Gerzenschtein.

restore her breast to near-normal appearance with the help of an implant. However, 10 years later, a blood clot developed behind the implant and doctors took it out to prevent further complications. Nancy never had the implant replaced.

Then, when she saw her cardiologist in 2010, he recommended she talk to Jacob Gerzenshtein, MD, FACS, plastic surgeon at Mercy Health System, to discuss another reconstruction surgery. “I was thinking they probably couldn’t do anything for me because it had been more than 20 years,” she says. “But I was surprised that they could — and that insurance would still pay for it.”

Dr. Gerzenshtein was able to work with a company that makes custom implants. A technician from the company performs a computed tomography (CT) scan of the breast area, then fills in the missing parts of the breast with a silicone implant. “I believe this type of breast reconstruction can work

for everyone,” says Dr. Gerzenshtein. “After this procedure, women can feel very comfortable in clothes and in a bathing suit, which is important.”

“He did a really wonderful job,” says Nancy. “My breast looks amazing, compared to what it was. Dr. Gerzenshtein is a wonderful person

— so easy to get along with. He’s a perfectionist, and if somebody is working with your body, you want him to be a perfectionist.”

Continues Nancy: “I haven’t looked this good since I was 38.”

Jacob Gerzenshtein, MD, FACS, plastic

surgeon at Mercy Health System.


China

bReaking down baRRieRs




China

bReaking down baRRieRs


Armed with Smartphones, the Chinese children huddle around their teacher and snap

pictures as she painstakingly leads them through the process of painting a flower with brushstrokes. They and their American peers all anxiously await their turn to mimic her expert touch and create their own masterpiece.

“They’re as attached to their phones as our kids are,” Deanne Edlefsen, principal at Roosevelt Elementary

School in Janesville, observes with a smile as she looks in on the class. The American and Chinese children are speaking different languages, but they are equally interested in learning how their teacher is able to create such beauty.

At the School District of Janesville International Education Program

– Summer Institute, children from both cultures spent two weeks in July learning side by side from both Chinese and American teachers. The result was a lasting relationship between the children’s schools that has broadened both groups’ understanding of each other’s cultures.

“Many of us don’t have the luxury of being able to travel around the world,” says Jane Thompson, the school district’s coordinator for international programs. “This relationship opens the door for our children to learn more about children from around the world.”

the beginning of a RelationshiPThe school district began contemplating the Summer Institute after Roosevelt and Harrison elementary schools were invited to be part of the Asia Society’s Confucius Classroom network in 2012. The network includes 100 U.S. schools that have exemplary Chinese language programs. Each U.S. school is linked with a Chinese partner school, and administrators and teachers have the opportunity to learn from each other and participate in projects together via video conferencing.

Last November, Superintendent Karen Schulte and school board member Kristin Hesselbacher traveled to China to discuss the possibility of hosting Chinese teachers in the coming semester. Karen returned to China in January to finish

“american kidS have more of a

creative ability than chineSe

kidS. i am learninG ideaS here

that i will be able to uSe in

my claSSroom at home.”

-Steven ZhanG

fifth-Grade

technoloGy teacher

Jessie Hou shows a student how to create a work of art with brushstrokes.

Jane Thompson, the School District of

Janesville’s coordinator for international

programs, has worked tirelessly to expose

Janesville students to different cultures.

Jessie and her student proudly display

their finished product.


Janesville Academy for International StudiesThe School District of Janesville has long been anadvocate of breaking down cultural barriers — even before starting the Summer Institute. At theJanesville Academy for International Studies, highschool students engage in intensive studies of other cultures. “It is the most amazing opportunity for these students,” says Jane Thompson, who serves as dean of the Academy in addition to her role as the school district’s coordinator of international studies.

Forty juniors and seniors at Craig and Parker highschools spend their mornings or afternoons

rihan wu, who traveled with the

students from beijing, teaches a

music class at the Summer institute.

22 Great People. Great Stories. | fAll/winter 2013

earning honors credit at the Academy, which is located at University of Wisconsin-Rock County. (They spend the other half of their day enrolled in traditional classes at their home schools.) In addition to learning other languages, they explore dynamics between different countries and work to understand other perspectives.

“What ties everything together is the research model we use,” says Thompson.

“During their classes, our students identify global issues they want to research and present theirfindings to an audience.”


planning for the teacher exchange and talk about bringing students to Janesville during the summer.

The two Chinese teachers arrived in March 2013 and stayed until the end of August. While in Janesville, they taught and observed in classrooms at several different elementary schools.

Steven Zhang (Chinese people choose an American first name when they begin learning English), a fifth-grade technology teacher at ZhongGuanCun No. 3 Primary School in Beijing, says he wanted to come to American schools to learn about classroom management here.

“American kids have more of a creative ability than Chinese kids,” he says. “I am learning ideas here that I will be able to use in my classroom at home.”

In July, a delegation of 27 fourth- and

fifth-grade Chinese students

from ZhongGuanCun No. 3

Primary School joined Stevenand English teacher Jessie Hou in Janesville for a two-week-long program during which they would be learning alongside 28 Janesville students. At the same time, six high school students from Far East

China High School in Shanghai arrived to study with five Janesville high school students.

The first-ever Summer Institute had begun.

exPeRience of a lifetimeThe cultural exchange didn’t happen overnight. Administrators and teachers spent months preparing for their young guests, even Skyping with some of the children beforehand so their faces would be familiar. The School District of Janesville worked with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student Nick Kliminski — who was already studying in Beijing — to help orient the elementary children to American culture before they came. Nick traveled along with the children on their trip to the U.S.

Steven Zhang

chinese teacher Steven zhang,

shown here working with a

Janesville student in a digital media

class, says he wanted to spend part

of a year teaching in Janesville to

learn american teaching styles.


Once here, the children were matched up with host families. When they weren’t attending classes, they

participated in special activities with their host families and in some large group events, like a pool and pizza party at one administrator’s house.

At the Institute, each day’s activities centered around a theme. For the elementary students, those themes included fine arts, safety and rescue, gardens and stories. Both American and Chinese teachers taught classes in both English and Chinese. “I would consider the experience a cultural immersion,” says Parker High School Spanish teacher Melissa Baier, who was one of the English teachers in the Institute.

The Janesville children who participated were selected based on interest and, in some cases, a lottery system. Harrison Elementary School fourth-grader Sean Flood says he wanted to participate because he has a Chinese aunt who has sparked his interest in the country. “The more Chinese I learn, the more I can interact with my aunt in her own language,” he says.

The high school Institute focused more on teaching the Chinese students about American culture — how we use our money, what kinds of foods we eat and how we live.


While the elementary schoolchildren did not speak much English, the high-schoolers were able to communicate more easily. “There’s enough English proficiency that they can have conversations with the American students, which helps them become a community,” says Alison Bjoin, principal of Craig High School and one of the organizers of the high school Institute.The week after the Institute concluded, both elementary and high school students participated in a week of excursions, during which they visited a Boy Scout camp, saw a local farm and traveled to UW-Whitewater.

looking to the futuReParents on both sides of the exchange have high hopes for their children’s continued cultural education. Chinese administrators have told their counterparts in Janesville that many of the parents want their children to be able to attend college here. The School District of Janesville, for its part, hopes the Summer Institute leads to one or more high school students spending a full year in Janesville.

“We plan on this being a long-term project,” says Veronica

McMahon, principal at Madison Elementary School.

“We definitely want to offer the Summer Institute again next year,” adds Jane. “Our hope is that in the future, it will have a truly international flavor to it, with children from countries around the world interacting with our children.”

“This is just the beginning of a really cool opportunity.”

Parent and volunteer Jeff Suarez leads children in a music and movement class.


house calls

Doctor travels to treat

elderly patients

Sherry Kasten, left, talks with her mother, Lola Fuller, and Dr. Kelly Fehrenbacher at Cozy Lil’ Acre assisted living facility, where Lola lives.



As the nurses and residents bustle outside Lola Fuller’s

room, Sherry Kasten sits quietly next to her mother on her bed, stroking her hand as Lola rests her head on her daughter’s shoulder. The two are cozy and loving.

For all of Sherry’s life, she and her mother have had tender moments like this. But while Sherry treasures the moments in her heart, her mother cannot remember most of them. Lola suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and has lived for the past two and a half years at

Cozy Lil’ Acre assisted living facility in Janesville.

“Some moms and daughters don’t get along like we have,” says Sherry. “We’re like best friends. But it’s hard, because she’s not the mother I used to know.”

As her mother’s disease has progressed, Sherry has struggled with many stressors, one of which has been transporting her mother to and from doctor appointments. That is one challenge she doesn’t have to worry about anymore — Lola

house calls

Doctor travels to treat

elderly patients



now sees Kelly J. Fehrenbacher, MD, geriatrician with Mercy Health System, who comes to Cozy Lil’ Acre to see Lola.

“My mother doesn’t like doctors,” says Sherry. “But because she sees Dr. Fehrenbacher in her own room, it’s more like a friend visiting than a physician.”

a sad declineWhen Lola was in her prime, she was a fireball. The song “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” from the musical “Damn Yankees” could have been written for her mother, says Sherry. Lola was always the life of the party. “Wherever she goes, she brings happiness,” Sherry says.

A few years ago, however, she started having memory problems. The change was so subtle that Sherry — who

visited every other day — didn’t notice right away, but her father Fred did. The two were devastated when Lola received an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, and they began attending caregivers’ classes together.

Dr. Fehrenbacher has known she wanted to work with older patients since she first became a doctor.

Then, in 2011, Fred died after complications from a hip fracture. Lola lived with her daughter for a few months during Fred’s illness and after his death, but Sherry soon realized she could not give her mother

Sherry, Lola and Dr. Fehrenbacher try to stimulate Lola’s memory with pictures.



what she needed. “Every aspect of it was difficult,” she says.

Sherry found Cozy Lil’ Acre in February 2011 and moved her mother there. It was the perfect place for Lola, and both mother and daughter were relieved they had found some stability.

Lola’s memory became worse and worse, however. Sometimes she forgets her husband died. Sometimes she forgets her parents are gone, too. Sherry has learned to play along with Lola’s stories rather than try to correct her every time.

Sherry never stops worrying about her mother. Before meeting Dr. Fehrenbacher, she was concerned whenever her mother had a doctor appointment. “Each time we went to the doctor, it was really hard because my mother didn’t want to go,” she says.

a love foR oldeR PatientsDr. Fehrenbacher knows all too well how difficult it is for elderly patients to see the doctor. That’s why she has dedicated herself to coming to them, rather than expecting them to come to her.

She first developed a love for geriatric medicine when she worked with a family practice physician who had an older patient population during medical school. “Just watching him and the relationship he had with his older patients really spoke to me,” she says. “The ladies always brought him cookies, and it was neat to see.”

She decided to specialize in the field because she loves developing relationships with older people. She spends about half her time in the clinic and half on the road, visiting homebound patients and those in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. She also cares for patients who are receiving hospice care and nearing the end of their lives.

“... it GiveS me comfort

every day to know

there’S Someone like dr.

fehrenbacher who careS

So much about my mother.”

-Sherry kaSten


“My work with hospice is important to me,” says Dr. Fehrenbacher,

“because I feel that I am helping improve patients’ quality of life while supporting their families as they deal with losing a loved one.”

Because she visits many of her patients in their places of residence, Dr. Fehrenbacher is able to talk to the facilities’ nursing staff and find out how the patient has been doing, which supplements the information she is given from the patients themselves.

For Lola, Dr. Fehrenbacher has been a breath of fresh air. Despite Lola’s fear of doctors, she likes Dr. Fehrenbacher enough to tease and joke around with her — a side of her mother that Sherry loves to see.

And Dr. Fehrenbacher’s concern about her patients is clear. “She seems so attentive to the geriatric population and cares so much,” says Mary Sanders, co-owner of Cozy Lil’ Acre. “She is also easy to reach. Her nurse Karen Phalin responds right away when we have a question or concern.”

As Sherry holds her mother’s hand, she acknowledges that she lives in constant fear of her mother falling. It was a fall, after all, that ultimately led to her father’s death.

“But it gives me comfort every day,” Sherry says, “to know there’s someone like Dr. Fehrenbacher who cares so much about my mother.”

For more information or to make an appointment, call (608) 741-2430.

The Right kind

of PeeR PRessuRe Couple loses weight as a team



The Right kind

of PeeR PRessuRe Couple loses weight as a team



Tom Nightingale gets a kick out of fooling his customers — particularly those who

haven’t visited his Cork and Bottle Food Shop in a while. They have no idea who he is because just two years ago, he was 170 pounds heavier.

“They ask about the fat guy who used

to work here,” he says. “I just say that

he hasn’t been around for a while. I

never tell them that it’s me, because

it’s too much fun to just play along.”

Tom and his wife Karen, both 60,

have earned the right to have a

little fun. With the help of Mercy

Health System’s Healthy Image

Weight Management Program,

the two have lost a combined 270

pounds. For this Janesville couple,

life will never again be the same.

Tom struggled with weight problems as

a child. By the time he was a sophomore

in high school, he weighed 240 pounds.

“In our generation, we were taught to

clean our plate,” he says. “I grew up

in a family of 11, so we learned to eat

fast, which also isn’t a good habit.”

He tried losing weight on his own a few

times, but as soon as he saw how well

he was doing, he rewarded himself with

food and gained all the weight back.Karen was never overweight as a

child, but after giving birth to three

children, she was never able to bring

herself back to a healthy size. “I was

more of a stress eater,” she says.

The turning point for the

Nightingales came in the summer

of 2011 when Tom, who is

diabetic, learned he was about to

transition from oral medications

to insulin injections. He also had

to seek treatment for an open

sore due to vascular disease on

his right leg. After his doctor told

him about another patient who

had had such advanced vascular

disease that he couldn’t walk, Tom

knew he needed to take action.

tailoRed to the individual

Tom and Karen were initially

hesitant to try Healthy Image

because they had heard rumors that

Above and right, Karen and Tom

Nightingale keep up with their new fitness

regimen on their treadmill at home.

Tom and Karen have taken to riding bikes together to maintain their weight loss.



foRming healthy neW habits

The Healthy Image program

includes six major components:

1 A meeting with a board certified

internal medicine or family

medicine physician with a special

interest in weight management

2 A nutrition assessment and

follow-up visits with a registered

dietitian who has a certificate of

training in weight management

3 Education geared toward

the participant’s lifestyle (for

example, dining and cooking

and holiday and travel habits)

4 An exercise assessment and

prescription from an exercise

physiologist, plus two free

personal training sessions

and regular follow-up visits

5 The option to exercise at the

Mercy Cardiac Fitness Center in

Janesville; the first month is free

6 Lifestyle counseling by a

psychologist to help the participant

focus on permanent weight loss

the program encouraged participants

to use meal replacements. They

both knew they would never be able

to stick to that kind of program.

They were pleased to discover,

however, that Healthy Image is not

one-size-fits-all. “Our patients

choose whether they want to lose

weight through tracking their

calorie intake or through eating

meal supplements and shakes,”

says Rebecca Senn, RD, CD, registered

dietitian with Healthy Image.

The Nightingales started by keeping a

food diary for two weeks. That helped

Rebecca see the kinds of foods they

were eating so she could help them

change their habits. Then, they

started counting calories in earnest.

“The first few times we went

grocery shopping after we started

the program, we were there for

about two hours,” says Karen.

“Things that we had thought were

healthy, like cheese, had more

calories than we thought.”

A major reason why Tom and Karen

were ultimately successful with their

weight loss, they say, was because

they learned how to control their

portion sizes. “We took the time to

enjoy what we were eating, rather

than just throwing something

in our mouths,” says Karen.


Participants also have the option to connect with staff members in between meetings if they have questions. “I had one woman who came in to see me once a month for seven years, even after she had met her goal,” says Rebecca. “She just wanted to make sure she didn’t get off track. I give people my e-mail address so they can easily reach me.”

Thanks to the program, the Nightingales became avid fitness enthusiasts. It wasn’t easy, however. “The elliptical machine was my enemy for a while,” says Karen.

But when Karen learned she could continue losing weight by exercising just 180 minutes per week, her goals seemed a little more achievable. She and Tom started participating in charity walks just so they could keep moving.

By the end of their journey, Tom lost 170 pounds and Karen lost 100. They now look — and feel — like completely different people.

“Once we started losing weight, we started having more energy,” says Karen. “Instead of sitting on the couch after work, we would go for a walk. We had a new lease on life.”

“Losing weight together just made a huge difference,” adds Tom.

They still struggle with food choices. As Tom points out, maintaining their weight loss is even harder than losing weight because it is easy to fall back on old habits. But they know that this time, the weight is going to stay off.

“This wasn’t a competition for us,” says Karen. “We went through this whole process so we could become healthier. And we did.”

At his heaviest, Tom (whose “before” picture is above left) was 367 pounds. He lost 170 pounds through Mercy’s Healthy Image program. Karen

(whose “before” picture is above right) dropped 100 of her 284 pounds.


For two months, Julie Kavetschanky could do little else but hole herself up in the back room of

her house, literally banging into the walls and clawing at them. The pain she was experiencing was so intense she could think about nothing else.

“It started the day after Halloween 2012,” says the Janesville woman, shuddering at the memory. “My face felt terrible. It felt like a bad toothache.”

Julie saw dentists and doctors, but none of them could help her. They prescribed pain relievers and gave her steroid injections, all to no avail. Finally, a doctor at Mercy Pain Center referred her to Christopher D. Sturm, MD, FAANS, FACS, neurosurgeon at Mercy Health System. Dr. Sturm gave

Julie exactly what she needed; the brain surgery he performed took away her pain and allowed her to live a normal life again.

”no Relief”There is a good reason why Julie’s condition — called trigeminal neuralgia (TN) — is referred to as the “suicide disease”: in some cases, patients experience so much pain for so long, they see no other option but to take their own life. “Trigeminal neuralgia is a fairly common disease, but it can sometimes take a long time to find a correct diagnosis,” says Sturm.

Like Julie, most TN sufferers start seeking answers at their dentist’s office. Because the pain radiates across their face and jaw, they assume it is a dental problem. Some may undergo many painful dental

m e R c y d o c t o R R e l i e v e s Wom a n o f

c h R o n i c Pa i n c o n d i t i o n

An end to the agony


life in rock county 37 life in rock county 37

For more than two months, Julie Kavetschanky felt like a character in a novel as she clawed at the walls in her bedroom, screaming in agony.


procedures such as root canals or tooth extractions before realizing they need to see someone else.

Here’s why the dental procedures don’t work: TN is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from the face to the brain. So it is a nerve — not a dental — problem that is causing the pain. A

neurologist or neurosurgeon is best equipped to treat the condition.

Julie, 54, wishes she had known the right specialist to see at the beginning of her ordeal. She had been diagnosed with both TN and a temporalmandibular joint (TMJ) disorder in her jaw in 2009, but never experienced severe problems until late in 2012. “As the days went on,

there was just no relief,” she says. “This pain was starting to be more severe and consistent. It felt like my face was being electrocuted — it lasted for hours and rested on the right part of my upper lip. I was so focused on the pain that it became my life. I never knew when it was going to hit or how long it was going to last.”

She had to take a leave of absence from her job at a deli counter. She spent most of her days lying down, and had to eat through a straw because she couldn’t chew. Talking was difficult, so she used a Magnadoodle to communicate with her fiancé.

According to Dr. Sturm, 70 percent of TN patients are able to find relief through oral medications or injections. “In the world of pain, you want to see if you can control symptoms in the least invasive manner possible,” says Sturm.

By the time Julie saw Dr. Sturm in January 2013, however, it was clear that she had progressed well beyond the point of non-surgical interventions. It was time to take more aggressive measures.

a miRacle suRgeRyOn January 16, 2013, Dr. Sturm performed microvascular decompression brain surgery on Julie. First, he made a small incision behind her ear, then

Christopher D. Sturm, MD, FAANS, FACS, neurosurgeon at Mercy Health System,

says trigeminal neuralgia is fairly common, but difficult to diagnose.


drilled a hole in her skull. Next, he used a microscope and surgical instruments to find the trigeminal nerve as it came out of the brain stem and relieve the compression on the nerve.

“Julie had both a vein and an artery compressing her trigeminal nerve, which meant there was a lot of pressure causing a lot of problems,” says Dr. Sturm. “In order to relieve the pressure, I gently removed the vein and artery from the nerve and placed a pad between the vessels and the nerve.”

Doctors don’t know exactly what causes TN. It can be a problem on its own, or it can be related to multiple sclerosis or

another condition that damages the myelin sheath containing the trigeminal nerve. They have found, however, that for most of the people who need surgical intervention, relieving the pressure on the nerve can also relieve the pain.

It certainly worked for Julie. “The minute I opened my eyes, there was no pain,” she says. “It was unbelievable. It was like I had never been through that horrible time.”

Though Julie currently experiences no pain, she is not out of the woods. There is no cure for TN, so there is a possibility she may again need decompression of her trigeminal nerve

in the future. But for the time being, Julie is grateful she found the right person at the right time to help her.

“Dr. Sturm knew right away how to solve my problem,” she says, “and he gave me my life back.”

For more information on surgical options for trigeminal neuralgia, call (608) 756-6826.


The

91-yeaR-old

lePRechaun


Tom Kennedy is Irish … and proud of it.


Janesville now has a new family festival — Janesville Irish Fest. The four-day festival takes place October 3-6 and includes performances by popular Irish band Gaelic Storm, Irish whiskey tasting, the Leprechaun Dash, bingo, a pub crawl and much more.

The Janesville Irish Fest committee formed because Janesville has the highest population percentage of Irish citizens for a large city in the state of Wisconsin. That means there are lots of Irish people living in Janesville. We spoke to just a few of them.

Both Tom and Mary Kennedy are quick to point out they have friends from

many different backgrounds and heritages. Mary likes to say with a grin that she “went with a lot of guys” when she was a girl, and not all of them were Irish.

But … the Janesville couple is quite proud to be Irish, and always has been. Mary’s parents were thrilled when she decided to marry Tom, whom she met at an Irish picnic in Evansville. Sixty-seven years after their wedding, the two still center their lives around their heritage.

Mary, 90, is Irish on both sides. Though her parents were born in the United States, her grandparents

immigrated here as adults, so their household was decidedly Irish. “We lived in Leyden, and practically everybody in Leyden was Irish,” says Mary, who remembers socializing with many Irish youngsters while she was growing up.

Tom, 91, is only Irish on his father’s side, and while he has always been proud of his heritage, it wasn’t until he married Mary that he became green, through and through. St. Patrick’s Day, in particular, is his day to shine. Many years ago, he started wearing green to work every year on March 17 to surprise his niece, who worked nearby and whose birthday was on St. Patrick’s Day. He started out with green pants and a tie, then stepped it up the next year with a green derby

and green coat. “I thought, by gosh, I do look like a leprechaun!” he says.

Eventually, a teacher and family friend invited him to visit the young children in her class on March 17. Tom donned his getup and told the youngsters an elaborate story of how he was a shoe-making leprechaun from Ireland who was banished to the United States by the leprechaun king.

Word spread, and soon Tom had a full slate of schools who wanted him to stop by on St. Patrick’s Day. “He came home pooped every year, I tell you,” says Mary.

Even now as a nonagenarian, Tom dresses up and makes one or two stops every March 17. “I still have lots of fun doing it,” he says.

For more information on the festival, visit janesvilleirishfest.com.

Tom and Mary Kennedy, shown here in 1976 (left) and in 2013 (center), have centered their lives around their Irish heritage. Tom (right) dresses

like a leprechaun every St. Patrick’s Day.


family Pride


It took a co-worker’s good-natured harassment for Terry Sheridan to start

showing interest in his Irish past.

Ever since the Sheridans heard about Janesville Irish Fest, their family

has been in a frenzy. Terry Sheridan was among the first to purchase tickets for the Gaelic Storm concert and his extended family has been calling for months, looking for details.

Terry, 65, is 100 percent Irish. His wife Judy, 62, has only a bit of Irish in her, but “I’ve got four Irish sons, so I consider myself Irish,” she says. Over the past 30 years, Judy has taken it upon herself to be the family’s historian.


And what a rich history it is. At age 15, one of Terry’s great-grandfathers became an apprentice ship carpenter so he could escape the Great Famine and sail to the United States. Once here, he married an Irish girl and started a family. Terry grew up in Janesville’s fourth ward, home to a mostly Irish population. He attended school at St. Patrick’s Catholic School.

He never really thought much about his Irish heritage until one of the firefighters at the station where he worked started to kid him about it. From then on, he was a die-hard Irishman.

“After we got so involved, the rest of my eight brothers and sisters started to get excited about being Irish, too,” says Terry.

The Sheridans have their own booth at O’Riley & Conway’s Irish Pub in Janesville. Hanging above the booth is an old picture of the Sheridan brothers (Terry and Judy think it was probably used for an advertisement, as the Sheridans have always owned a large assortment of businesses in Janesville) with the words “Sheridan – A Janesville Irish Tradition Since 1880.”

Terry and Judy have worked hard to interest their nine grandchildren in their Irish heritage. Every year on St. Patrick’s Day, they host a coin hunt (like an Easter egg hunt, only with “leprechaun coins”),

sing their family song and dress up in their best green finery. “We want our grandchildren to have memories of these special times,” says Judy.

They have a family banner on which they place pictures of family members who have died. The Sheridans hang that banner on their garage every March 17 as a tribute to those who have gone before them.

And next year, they will experience a dream come true: They will travel to Ireland with all four of their sons and their wives. “My sons are proud of their heritage, and we are proud of them,” says Judy.

Judy and Terry Sheridan make sure all their grandchildren are proud of their Irish heritage.

This picture of the Sheridan brothers hangs in O’Riley & Conway’s Irish Pub in Janesville.

44 Great People. Great Stories. | fAll / winter 201344 Great People. Great Stories. | fAll / winter 2013

From left, Charlie, Paul, Liza, Janna and Sam Ryan are proud to make their home in Janesville.

“it’S the Story of the american ideal — SearchinG

for a better life and enjoyinG the american dream.

-reP. Paul ryan


Like many of the other families in Janesville, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan is “Famine Irish” —

his great-great grandfather on his father’s side, James Ryan, came to the United States to escape Ireland’s Great Famine. James worked for a railroad company until he had enough money to buy a farm just outside Janesville.

By the Ryan family’s most recent estimations, there are 67 Ryan cousins still living in the Janesville area today — all of whom are descended from P.W. Ryan, James’ son. “I grew up with all of my dad’s relatives living in the same neighborhood in Janesville,” says Paul. “We were always very proud of our Irish heritage. We had a family corned beef and cabbage recipe on St. Patrick’s Day, I backpacked through Ireland for a week during college and my brothers went to Notre Dame University.”

Since the mid-1800s, Janesville has been heavily populated with Irish families. Even today, many

”yeaRning for j a n e s v i l l e ”

family names — including the Ryans — are well known as being Janesville institutions.

“It’s a very tight-knit community,” says Paul. “There’s a lot of comfort in it. Some of these families have been friends for so long.”

Even many people — such as Paul — who moved away from Janesville to attend college and advance their careers eventually made their way back home. “They found themselves yearning for Janesville and wound up raising their families there,” says Paul.

“Irish people are very happy and proud of their Irish heritage,” he continues. “It’s the story of the American ideal — searching for a better life and enjoying the American dream. There’s that common heritage of working your way up from poverty to success. It’s that spirit of entrepreneurship that brings pride to the Irish.”


october3-6 IrIsh Fest Various locations throughout Janesville

12 MakIng strIdes agaInst Breast CanCer (aMerICan CanCer soCIety walk), 8:30 a.m., Palmer Park, Janesville

17-19 halloween walkRotary Botanical Gardens, Janesville

24 CheFs CookIng For a Cause (ywCa BeneFIt) 5 p.m., Janesville Country Club

26 nIght at the lIBrary: Masquerade Mystery 7 p.m. Hedberg Public Library, Janesville

cAlendAr of events

november16 deer hunt wIves’ weekend 11 a.m.-7 p.m.Northleaf Winery, Milton

december1 eCho’s holIday express Pontiac Convention Center, Janesville

5-15 “a ChrIstMas Carol,” presented by Stage One, various times, Janesville Performing Arts Center

7-8 Choral unIon ConCert, 7 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2 p.m. on Dec. 8, Cargill United Methodist Church, Janesville

jAnuAry14 CreatIve vIsIon workshop, sponsored by the United Arts Alliance of Rock County, 5:30 p.m. Janesville Performing Arts Center

mArch13-23 “tuesdays wIth MorrIe,” presented by Stage One, various times, Janesville Performing Arts Center


mercy heAlth system support Groups

Breast CanCer support Group

For women diagnosed with

any type of breast cancer —

meets the second Thursday

of the month, 6:30-8 p.m.

in the Mercy Clinic North

conference room, Janesville.

Ms support Group

One in 500 people is diagnosed

with multiple sclerosis (MS) in

Wisconsin. If you or a loved

one are affected by MS, join

us the third Tuesday of each

month to hear the latest on

this disease and find the

support of others who know

what you’re going through.

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Mercy Health Mall, Janesville

prostate CanCer support Group

For men diagnosed with

any type of prostate cancer

— meets the first Thursday

of the month, 6:30-8 p.m.

in the Mercy Clinic North

conference room, Janesville.

GriefCare support Group

Mercy Hospice Care invites

you to share and receive the

support of others facing the

challenges of grieving the loss

of a loved one. Family, friends

and children are welcome —

2nd and 4th Tuesday of the

month in the Mercy Clinic

North conference room, 6 p.m.

For other support group and community education offerings, visit mercyhealthsystem.org/classes

stroke survivors’ support Group

Recovering from or living with

the effects of a stroke is a

challenge worth sharing. At

our Stroke Survivors’ Support

Group, individuals and loved

ones affected by stroke have a

safe place to share emotions

and personal experiences, seek

and give advice and exchange

practical information with others.

First Wednesday of every

month, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Mercy Hospital and

Trauma Center

Mercy Conference

Center, Room 1128A


Documents

LIFE IN ROCK COUNTYgpgsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/vol3issue3...brought 19 paintings to the gallery, and in less than two months he had sold all but four. Additionally,