Tampa, FL (May 7, 2014) – “I have polyneuropathy…The idiopathic kind with no clear cause.”

This is how Tampa resident Bruce Dangremond, explains his struggle of living with peripheral neuropathy, a disorder of the nervous system that results in chronic pain, numbness, and disability.

Like Dangremond, there are 20 million other Americans affected by neuropathy. One in 15 Americans suffers from the debilitating disease — making it the leading cause of adult disability in the country, according to The Neuropathy Association. Neuropathy is mainly caused by chemotherapy, diabetes, hereditary disorders and other illnesses. Yet, its cause is undetermined in 30 percent of all cases.

Dr. Cindy Tofthagen of the USF College of Nursing speaks with patient David Hayes and his fiance Judith Jordiani (far left) at the new Supportive Care Clinic for People with Peripheral Neuropathy.

“Neuropathy can be painful, overwhelming and heavily dampen the creative parts of your brain,” Dangremond said. “It saps the joy right out of your life, slaps you silly and leaves you feeling alone in that sea among unseen other patients.”

To help Dangremond and other neuropathy sufferers, Cindy Tofthagen, PhD, ARNP, AOCNP, assistant professor and director of the oncology concentration at the University of South Florida College of Nursing, established a free clinic to provide education and support. The Supportive Care Clinic for People with Peripheral Neuropathy is open once every three months by appointment only.

The clinic is staffed by volunteers who are experts in neuropathy including Dr. Tofthagen and Connie Visovsky, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, associate professor and associate dean of student affairs and community engagement at USF College of Nursing. In addition to nurse practitioners, each patient sees a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, and a mental health professional. Massage therapists provide free massages to temporarily help relieve pain. The patients are seen in the office of Sylvia Campbell, MD, the president of the board of the Judeo Christian Health Clinic in Tampa.

Clinic volunteer Bruce Clatterbuck, right, chats with Hayes.

“We provide individualized education on coping with neuropathy, managing symptoms and physical limitations, maintaining a safe home environment and identifying additional sources of help,” Dr. Tofthagen said. “Our goal is to help patients understand neuropathy and learn how to deal with it, so they can have an excellent quality of life.”

Bruce Clatterbuck, who suffers from radiation fibrosis as a result of treatment for Hodgkin’s disease, volunteers at the clinic to connect with patients on a more personal level. USF nursing undergraduate students also help out.

“I am forever grateful to Dr. Tofthagen, USF nursing faculty and staff volunteers, and others in the community for giving us the help that we desperately need,” Dangremond said. “The clinic helps me cope with the disease and gives me helpful tips to get through the chaos. I have hope again.”

Dr. Tofthagen also leads the Tampa Bay Neuropathy Support Group, a part of Neuropathy Association. The national non-profit organization helps increase public awareness and educates the public and healthcare providers about neuropathy. The local support group meets once a month at the USF Tampa campus.

Dr. Cindy Tofthagen, USF Health assistant professor of nursing who helped establish the clinic, also leads the Tampa Bay Neuropathy Support Group.

Neuropathy Awareness Week is May 12 to 16.

For more information about the Supportive Care Clinic and the Tampa Bay Neuropathy Support Group, contact Dr. Cindy Tofthagen at neuropathyhelptampa@gmail.com or call (813) 368-9862.

-USF Health-

 USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a global research university ranked 50^th in the nation by the National Science Foundation for both federal and total research expenditures among all U.S. universities. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

Photos by Jose Donneys, USF College of Nursing Communications

Media contact:
Vjollca “V” Hysenlika, USF College of Nursing Communications
(813) 974-2017 or vhysenli@health.usf.edu

Even the routine tasks for people with diabetes can be a challenge – as medical students in the SELECT program at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine are now learning.

SELECT students agreed Thursday to take the “Bringing Science Home Diabetes Challenge.” They’ll carry a blood sugar monitor with them for the next 24 hours, check their blood sugar every few hours, respond to text messages about their diabetes and keep a journal on their experience.

SELECT student Emma Qureshey gets some help testing her blood sugar.

Students soon realized that even the basic step of sticking a finger and collecting enough blood to test their glucose level is harder than it looks. Several students needed help to set up the monitors and advice on how to squeeze out more blood.

“We all thought it would be kind of easy,” said Jennifer Chevinsky. “And now we’ve already spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to check our blood. So I think we’ll gain a good amount of perspective by the end.”

The challenge is sponsored by Bringing Science Home, the USF Health program established to help people with chronic diseases live more optimistic lives. SELECT (Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences, Collaborative Training) is a two-year old partnership with the Lehigh Valley Health Network that emphasizes developing emotional intelligence skills and leadership abilities for tomorrow’s physician leaders.

Nicole Johnson, executive director of Bringing Science Home, and high school student Emma Donahue talk with SELECT students.

SELECT program students sat down Thursday to hear from Nicole Johnson, executive director of Bringing Science Home, and several students and family members associated with the program.

“My mom said right from the get-go I have to check my blood sugar before I get in the car,” high school student Emma Donahue, who has diabetes, told the group. She knows that if her blood sugar drops, it may impair her driving ability.

Donahue always keeps her car stocked with snacks and extra testing supplies, just in case.  She also told the group about the challenges of controlling her blood sugar and participating on her high school swim team – an issue that struck close to home for some of the SELECT students.

“I was a swimmer in high school, and swimmers get light-headed,” said SELECT student Emma Qureshey. “We used to eat Jell-O packs between races – and that’s with normal blood sugar.”

That kind of understanding is exactly what Johnson is aiming for. USF graduate psychology students are also participating, and Johnson plans to sign up other student groups for the “Diabetes Challenge” as well.

Emma Donahue talks about living with diabetes.

Johnson told the SELECT students Thursday that she knows three separate instances of high school teachers mistaking an insulin pump for a cell phone and trying to confiscate it – pulling the pump right out of the student’s body.

There are scarier possibilities as well. People with diabetes – and their family members – worry especially night time lows, which can be deadly if they don’t wake up. They are especially dangerous for young adults, who may not live with someone who can check on them.

“You’ll be getting one day in our shoes,” she told the group.

Learn more about Bringing Science Home at www.bringingsciencehome.com

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