Current Pedorthics | September-October 2017 | Vol.49, Issue 5 | Page 37

"While treating these clients she noticed that when the women walked they compensated for the amputation of the breast and muscle." Teresa’s journey down the path of Pedorthics began when she was working in Hospice Home care and met her late husband Charles Alpert. He was the pharmacist for the hospice program and she was and providing patient care and grief counseling to families. They had a ‘whirlwind love affair’ and shortly afterwards she began working in the pharmacy with him. The pharmacy was her platform into orthotics and prosthetics. At that time NARD (National Association of Retail Druggists) was the certifying arm of the pharmacy industry for braces. Don Fedder and her husband went to Pharmacy school together and that was her introduction to BOC in Baltimore. Her hospice training and her work with cancer patients piqued her interest about deformities and body disfigurement. Mastectomy products were in the finer department stores and just reentering the medical market under the Women’s Health Act with insurance reimbursement available. That was her entry into learning more about breast prosthesis and garments, lymphedema and the effects of chemo and radiation therapies. Teresa reflects “It was a perfect fit, no pun intended.” She launched “Perfectly You” and began fitting women with Current Pedorthics September/October 2017 35