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Fitne

Expecting
Someone?

Yes, Resist!

Holocaust survivor's fitness
invention uses resistance training.

THE MERLE AND SHIRLEY HARRIS
BIRTHING CENTER AT
HURON VALLEY-SINAI HOSPITAL

• Beautiful, all private birthing suites for labor, delivery, recovery
and postpartum (LDRP) care

• Complete-care nursery including full-time neonatology service
for infants with special needs

• Anesthesiologists available 24 hours a day

• High-risk pregnancy, infertility and genetics services'

All in conjunction with Hutzel 1X/omen's Hospital and Wayne State Unnersity.

Inventor David Bergman of Hernando, Fla., shows how his
Muscle Invigorator can be used by those in wheelchairs.

Keri Guten Cohen

Story Development Editor

"silent voice" guided David
Bergman through the horrors
of five Nazi Germany extermi-
nation camps during World War II
and kept him alive while the rest of
his family perished.
That same silent voice gave him the
strength to survive when he was a
"90-pound skeleton" liberated by the
Allies. It gave him the wisdom to
know he should put only fruits and
vegetables into his emaciated body
rather than the rich C rations other
survivors gulped down that later
made them sick.
"There is within us a silent voice
that guides us," Bergman says. "It's a
matter of having the will to listen to
it."
Listening to that voice has given
this former Detroiter, who now lives in
Hernando, Fla., a positive outlook that
won't quit. Since retiring from engi-

A

neering and insurance sales, Bergman
accelerated his interest in inventing.
His latest invention is the Muscle
Invigorator, a lightweight, portable
exercise system that's simple to use,
even for people in wheelchairs. It's
based on resistance training that
works all the muscles of the body and
uses bungee cords of varying thick-
nesses that connect to a lightweight
bar.
"First, I studied what is available
and found rubber tubing and bands,"
he said. "The little voice told me to
find a better, safer way; so I started
experimenting. The bungee cords add
more protection to prevent injury. I
also wanted to progressively change
the weight resistance simply and easi-

ly.

Expect the Best.

To schedule a tour of the Merle and Shirley Harris Birthing Center
at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, call (248) 937-5120. To schedule an
appointment with one of our physicians, call (888) DMC-2500.

DMC

Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital

DETROIT MEDICAL CENTER; WAYNE STATE UN,IVERSITY

He got help perfecting the equip-
ment from physical therapists, who
tried the system with geriatric
patients and liked the results. Denise
Navarro, a Pilates trainer and physical
therapist with the Rehabilitation

Yes, Resist! on page 18

A Neu , Work] 111 Healtlicarerm

I William Cads Drive • Commerce, Michigan • 248-937-3300 • www.hvsh.org

At Commerce & Commerce in Commerce

10831340

February 23 P 2006

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