From Wheelchair to Walking

An avid cyclist and runner, Andre Krutainis lives life on the go. That’s why he was surprised when, the week after Labor Day 2023, he struggled to get off the floor after playing with his young grandkids. “I had some persistent back pain, and my legs were very weak” he says. “The next day, I was holding onto something just to walk as I packed up the car.”

Andre had to get from his shore home in Belmar, NJ, to his job in Des Moines, Iowa. It took two days and left him sore and unable to walk even with a walker. So, he went to a local Emergency Room. There, doctors found he had a mass wrapped around his T4 vertebrae, which was caused by Stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his spine.

Surgeons removed the mass, and then fused Andre’s spine between the T2 and T7 vertebrae to give it stability. Afterward, however, he was still unable to walk because the cancer had damaged his spinal cord
nerves. “My legs were numb,” he says. “I wasn’t a complete paraplegic, but I had numbness up to my chest.” He was told he’d be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Fresh start

In March 2024, Andre moved to a house in Hatfield. Once settled, he decided to try physical therapy. “I wanted a hospital-backed program, and I had heard good things about Grand View Health,” Andre says. So, he called the Center for Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery in Colmar, which includes a team of physical
therapy specialists who personalize care based on each patient’s goals.

“Sherry [Rizzo, a Patient Services Representative at the center] picked up the phone and told me, ‘I know exactly who you need to see.’” That person was Emily Ammazzaorsi, a physical therapist with special training in vestibular, concussion and balance therapy.

“I asked Andre about his goals, and he said he wanted to walk again,” Emily remembers. “Because he was six months out from the spinal fusion surgery — and because he was so passionate — I was confident I could help him.”

Emily set a goal for Andre: To walk unassisted inside his home within six months. Andre achieved the goal a month early.

Steady progression

At Andre’s first appointment, he was barely able to move 40 feet with a walker. “He said that was the first time he had walked in over a month,” Emily remembers. “And I told him, ‘We got work to do, buddy.”

At a therapy appointment about two months later, Emily put two chairs in front of Andre. With two physical therapists by his side, Andre walked about 20 steps back and forth. That was the first time he had walked without support since Labor Day 2023.

Andre saw Emily three times a week, then twice a week for six months. “Emily absolutely knows her stuf — and she has a great sense of humor,” Andre says. “She kept setting new goals that I didn’t think I could make, but then I did.” Eventually, he progressed from his wheelchair to a walker to crutches, and finally
to full movement.

Today, Andre is back in motion. “I can walk two miles on a treadmill, go up and down hills, walk my dogs, and I went trick-or-treating with my grandkids,” he says. He even drives his wife’s convertible Volkswagen with a clutch, something he never thought he’d do again.

“I believe Grand View is why I’m walking again,” Andre says. “Emily, Jill [Fontana, lead physical therapist in Colmar], Sherry and the whole team in Colmar were great. They constantly challenged me, and now, even I’m amazed by how much I can do.”