April 30, 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – April 30, 2021 – From para-skiing to hand-cycling the Himalayas and sharing his journey in the Netflix documentary El Limite Infinito, 58-year-old polio survivor Jean Maggi has never put limits on his dreams. In April 2013, Maggi’s life changed when he traveled from his native Argentina to Hanger Clinic in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to be fit with custom leg braces that allowed him to walk without crutches for the first time since he was a toddler.
Now, eight years later, Maggi continues to receive orthotics care from his Hanger Clinic team in South Florida, who are helping him pursue his biggest dream yet—becoming one of the first people with a disability to go to space. Area Clinic Manager Matt Klein, CPO, and National Orthotics Expert Chris Toelle, LCO, recently fit Maggi with a new, lightweight pair of knee-ankle-foot braces that are helping him complete aerospace training, including the G-Force simulator at the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center in Pennsylvania.
Miami journalists recently interviewed Maggi and Klein. Following are some of the resulting news stories:
- WSVN-TV (FOX): https://wsvn.com/entertainment/man-with-polio-subject-of-netflix-doc-aspires-to-go-into-space-and-a-fort-lauderdale-clinic-is-helping/
- WPLG-TV (ABC): https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/04/19/disability-advocate-hopes-to-walk-in-space-with-new-leg-braces/
- WSCV-TV (Telemundo): https://www.telemundo51.com/noticias/local/el-primer-civil-con-discapacidad-en-viajar-al-espacio/2185107/
About Hanger Clinic: Hanger Clinic, a subsidiary of Hanger, Inc. (NYSE: HNGR), owns and operates approximately 800 patient care clinics nationwide, where comprehensive, outcomes-based orthotic and prosthetic care is delivered. Rooted in 160 years of clinical excellence and innovation, the certified clinicians of Hanger Clinic provide compassionate, expert care and customized solutions for all ages, designed to increase the mobility and function of each person we have the honor of serving. For more information on Hanger Clinic, visit www.HangerClinic.com.
Contact:
Annie Myers
External Relations Manager
(210) 440-7380 or [email protected]