Health Beat: Carbon back rods for scoliosis

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Daniel Stephen's parents call him their miracle. Doctors said he wouldn't live past the first night.


"He was not pink like a typical newborn baby who takes that gasp," said Dawn Stephens, Daniel's mother.


Daniel had major health problems, including early onset scoliosis. His spine was curved into his ribcage, squashing his lungs.


Surgeons implanted a VEPTR, or a vertical, expanding, prosthetic titanium rib, which doesn't usually cause any problems.


"He was scratching his head, his chest. He had belly pain," recalled Dr. Jonathan Phillips, pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.


It turned out, Daniel is allergic to mostly all metals used to treat scoliosis. So Phillips had an idea: to trick Daniel's immune system, they removed the titanium rods and masked the metal by spraying it with carbon. Daniel's symptoms disappeared.


That's why the teen says he calls his doctor his hero.


"He's fought for Daniel. He's thought way outside the box. It's inspiring and it gives us hope, hope for another day," Stephens said.


Meanwhile, one of Daniel’s biggest wishes...


"To reach five feet," he said, "so I can drive go-carts."


Daniel has been allergy-free for the past four years. Phillip's carbon-coated rods research was recently published in Spine Deformity: The Official Journal of The Scoliosis Research Society.


DOWNLOAD and VIEW research summary and an in-depth interview with the doctor






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Pennsylvania-based Rita's Italian Ice expanding to Mideast

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It's not a mirage: Rita's Italian Ice is bringing its cool treats to the Middle Eastern desert.


The Pennsylvania-based chain said Wednesday it's contracting with a Middle East food executive to open 46 stores in the next decade in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and five other Arab nations.


Rita's contractor Faysal Younes said the Middle East's warm climate makes it a natural market for Rita's sweet, frozen concoctions.


The company's store total doubled to more than 600 in 27 states in the last 10 years, and it's partnered with a New Jersey firms to increase its presence at sports stadiums.


Now it's looking for international growth. Besides the Middle East, Rita's said it's opened or planning stores in Canada, China, India, the Philippines and the Caribbean.






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Montgomery County picks Valerie Arkoosh as newest commissioner

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Montgomery County has filled a vacant spot at the commissioners' table.


On Wednesday, the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas appointed Valerie Arkoosh of Springfield Township to fill the vacancy.


Former commissioner Leslie Richards resigned to become acting secretary of transportation.






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Reading woman busted with $1M worth of cocaine

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from his wife's Escalade moments after she was killed.>>>JACIEL cordoba: Reading Police busted a 1-million dollar cocaine operation this week. Police say they took 36 year-old Angelica Alvarado of Reading into custody after finding 24 pounds of cocaine in her car. Police say that amount of cocaine has a street value of more than 1-million dollars. It all went down after Alvarado was pulled over for not using a turn signal when switching lanes. Police had been tailing her car after observing her leave a North 12th street house carrying some luggage. Alvarado is being held on 750-thousand






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Opening arguments wrap up in 10-yr-old cold case

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Opening statements ended Wednesday morning in an Allentown infant-murder case that went cold for a decade.


Jurors are hearing from witnesses.


The prosecution says 32-year-old Wendi Stanford of Alabama blamed her then 2-year-old daughter for the death of her 2-month-old son in Allentown back in 2003.


They say Stanford said the girl dropped her baby brother a week before he died.


Stanford moved back to Alabama during the investigation.


A decade later, Stanford was brought back to the Lehigh Valley to face murder charges.


Prosecutors say it was Stanford --not her daughter-- who killed the baby boy by blunt force trauma.


The defense is telling a different story.


They don't dispute the autopsy results, but say Stanford doesn't know what happened to her baby and she has always maintained her innocence.


Reporter Bo Koltnow will have more on this story starting with 69News at 4.






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Wendi Stanford trial starts

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at Noon starts right now. >>>eve tannery: First at noon... Opening statements just ended in an Allentown infant-murder case that went cold for ten years.>>JACIEL cordoba: Now jurors are hearing from witnesses. The prosecution says 32 year-old Wendi Stanford -- of Alabama -- blamed her then 2 year-old daughter for the death of her 2 month old son in Allentown back in 2003. They say Stanford said the girl dropped her baby brother a week before he died. Stanford moved back to Alabama during the investigation. a decade later...Stanford was brought back to the Lehigh Valley to face murder charges. Prosecutors say it was Stanford... not her daughter... that killed the baby boy by blunt force trauma. The defense is telling a different story. They don't dispute the autopsy results... but say Stanford doesn't know what happened to her baby.. and say that she has always maintained her innocence. We'll have






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Students hear from man who lost son to suicide

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A suicide-prevention speaker who lost his son to suicide made an appearance in Bethlehem Wednesday morning



John Halligan addressed a crowd of students at Nitschmann Middle School.


Halligan's son, Ryan, committed suicide back in 2003 after being bullied at school and online.



"I do this presentation because I know that every single school I bring it to, there's a potential Ryan who's feeling the way my son felt...If I can just get one child to change their mind about suicide, it's a gift to be able to do that," he said.



Halligan helped get the Vermont Bullying Prevention Law passed in 2004... and a Suicide Prevention Education in Public Schools law passed two years later.






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Speaker lost son to suicide after he was bullied

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Nobles Reporting. >>>eve tannery: a suicide-prevention speaker who lost his son to suicide made an appearance in Bethlehem this morning. John Halligan addressed a crowd of students at Nitschmann Middle School. Halligan's son, Ryan, committed suicide back in 2003 after being bullied at school and online.John-"I do this presentation because i know that every single school i bring it to, there's a potential Ryan who's feeling the way my son felt...If i can just get one child to change their mind about suicide, it's a gift to be able to do that." >>eve tannery: Halligan helped get the Vermont Bullying Prevention Law passed in 2004... and a Suicide Prevention Education in Public Schools






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Intentionally set fire fills part of school with smoke, forces evacuation of school in Robeson

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A small fire filled part of a school in Berks County with smoke, forcing the evacuation of students and staff.


Emergency crews were dispatched at 8:21 a.m. Wednesday to the High Point Baptist Academy, 200 Chapel Rd., in Robeson Township, between Birdsboro and Morgantown.


Firefighters arrived to find a fire in a boys' bathroom, where they managed to contain the flames.


Smoke from the fire, however, spread throughout a wing of the school. Everyone inside managed to get out unharmed.


A state police fire marshal was summoned to the scene. The preliminary investigation has revealed that someone intentionally set the fire by igniting toilet paper, said officials, who have not yet identified the culprit.






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DNC visits Philadelphia

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you, coming up. >>> jaciel cordoba: a delegation from the Democratic National Committee will visit Philadelphia today. The d-n-c is trying to decide which city should host the 2016 convention, and Philadelphia is vying for it. The committee chairwoman will be in town, along with a small team. The group is expected to be greeted by Mayor Michael Nutter, and former Governor Ed Rendell. Nutter is set to lead a tour of the city's convention venues and historical highlights, like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Columbus, Ohio, and New York City's Brooklyn Borough






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140,000 Pennsylvanians enroll in health plans for first time

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Federal officials say more than 140,000 Pennsylvanians have enrolled for the first time in plans sold through the health insurance marketplace for 2015.


Monday's report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gave statistics for the first two months of open enrollment, through January 16th.


Approximately 278,000 others re-enrolled after purchasing a plan during the 2014 enrollment period.


Including people who signed up for the first time, four in five were eligible for federal tax credits to help them pay for the coverage.


The numbers don't include automatic re-enrollment by any of the 317,000 Pennsylvanians who signed up in the 2014 enrollment period.


However, federal officials haven't said how many of those who signed up for 2014 remain insured.


The enrollment period lasts through February 15th.






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Reading woman busted with $1M worth of cocaine, large amount of cash

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An undercover drug operation led to the discovery of more than $1 million worth of cocaine and the arrest of a woman in Reading.


Berks County detectives were conducting surveillance of a home in the 1400 block of North 12th Street when they observed a man and a woman walk out with a handbag and two pieces of luggage and place them in an SUV, according to an affidavit of probable cause.


The man returned to the home empty-handed while the woman, identified by detectives as Angelica Maria Alvarado, got into the SUV and drove away, authorities said.


Detectives followed the vehicle and called for Reading police to pull the woman over when she failed to use a turn signal in the 1000 block of North Ninth Street, according to court documents.


Alvarado, stopped in the 600 block of Spring Street, granted detectives permission to search the luggage, in which they said they found approximately 24 pounds of cocaine, with a potential street value of more than $1 million, and a large amount of bulk currency, some of it enclosed in heat-sealed bags.


Alvarado, 36, of Reading, was arrested and charged with various drug offenses, including manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver. She was committed to the Berks County Jail on $750,000 bail.


Detectives told 69 News that Alvarado's arrest is part of an ongoing investigation.






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Mustangs and Eagles Advance to District Semis

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At Governor Mifflin, the Mustangs defeated Conestoga Valley 54-16 in the first round of the District tournament. In the Quarter finals, the mustangs pulled out a late victory over Penn Manor 35-29 to advance to the next round.



At South Western, the Exeter Eagles defeated ELCO in the first round by a 59-12 margin. In the quarters, the Eagles defeated host South Western 30-28.






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Saints, Spartans and Bullets Get Key Wins

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With the Berks County regular season coming to a close next week a few questions were answered.



In the Boys Berks III division, the Spartans earned a 53-51 victory over Antietam with a game winning basket by Ben Croft. Wyomissing's Colin Smith lead the team with 18 points and Jarvay Bolton chipped in 15.



At Wolf Gymnasium, the Berks Catholic Saints make a statement in the Berks II division. The Saints defeated Fleetwood 61-33. Courtney Wensel led the way with 22 points and Devon Merrit contributed 19 points.



At Tulpehocken, the Brandywine Bullets earned a 61-40 victory to strengthen their position atop the Berks III standings. Lizzy Leiby had a game high 28 points.






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4 tag team in robbery of Northampton Co. couple

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Police in Northampton County are warning residents to beware of people posing as utility or other workers after an incident Tuesday.


Two residents of a home in Palmer Township were victims of a 'residential distraction' robbery.


Police said the incident happened in teh 2700 block of Oregon Street.


The homeowners told police that two Hispanic men knocked at the rear door and said they worked for an unknown company and had to check their basement pipes for dirty water.


When one of the homeowners escorted the men into the basement, the suspects used a handheld walkie talkie and remarked over the radio that "everything was ok" while they viewed pipes in the basement, police said.


A second homeowner then found two more men inside the master bedroom removing items from the closets and dresser drawers.


The men forced their way past the homeowner and left the house through a rear door.


The four men were seen fleeing the area of Dunkle Street northbound in a black work-style utility van, unknown make or model.


The robbers took a safe with an undisclosed amount of cash, as well as jewelry from dresser drawers, police said.


The suspects were all in their 40s, all wearing black clothing and black beanie caps.


Palmer Township police remind residentsn to be vigilant where unidentified individuals knock at doors posing as workers, and be alert for a black utility work van.


Anyone with information on this or similar incidents is asked to call the Palmer Township police department at 610-253-5844.






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Venus Williams Defeated at Australian Open by Teen Player

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Madison Keys, 19, beat the legendary tennis star and now prepares to face her next challenge, Serena Williams. Watch more at http://ift.tt/14SvZna.


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