Sarasota's Hasan Tezduyar gives a pat of appreciation to Rachel Apple, a wellness associate with Qualliv, at the Health and Wellness Expo at The Mall at University Town Center.
Photo by Madison Bierl
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For Sarasota's Dan Sepulveda, pain has been an issue for years.
At 19 years old, he was injured in a motorcycle accident, and now years later at 50, the pain only worsened. On Jan. 10, he attended the "New Year, New You" health expo at The Mall at University Town Center to see what might be available to him.
As soon as he saw a sign that said "Got pain?" at a booth at the expo (hosted by Lakewood Ranch Community Activities and presented by Lakewood Ranch Medical Center) his interest was piqued.
It was a booth for Lifewave, a company that sells pain relief patches. Sepulveda tested them out, placing one on his back and one on his shoulder. Within 15 minutes, he said he noticed his pain was eased.
He said it was hard to believe.
Lifewave was just one of the 60 vendors that set up booths in order to inform and serve the community.
Lakewood Ranch's Carrie Ehrlich, a nutrition health coach who owns Transform Wellness, attended the expo to connect with other health professionals who hold similar views. She has been impressed by new technologies being used in the health and wellness industry.
Megan Batty, the director of marketing for Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, said the event is a great way for the different departments within the hospital to meet the community.
"It's a neat event to get in front of all types of different people," Batty said.
Keith Pandeloglou is the president and CEO of Lakewood Ranch Community Activities, the group that organized the event.
"The goal is to start the year off on the right foot and everybody's always in their resolution mode," Pandeloglou said. "What better way to make sure they keep them than with 60 different vendors that will give them something that can help them."
New York's Mark Papagni speaks with doctor of chiropractic Robert Eyerly and chiropractic neurologist Bianca Miret at the Carolina Functional Neurology Center booth.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Dave Boltz, a massage-mobility specialist, is among the team members from Elite Stretch Therapy who provided free massages to people in The Mall at University Town Center for the health expo.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Platinum Healthcare Physical Medicine's Daphna McLean and Daniel Rubin checked the boxes for Sarasota's Louis Cersosimo to book a chiropractic appointment with them.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Medical doctor Mark Sylvester with Mind Body Medicine says it is important for the health community to network and come together. Mind Body Medicine was one of the presenting sponsors of the event.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Estrella Lopez Lara, a family nurse practitioner with ELL Integrative Wellness Center is eager to answer health and wellness questions at the expo.
Photo by Madison Bierl
University Wellness Center's Solange Simoes tells Sarasota's Yenny Lopez all about RioVida Stix, which is supposed to support the immune system and nerve and muscle function.
Photo by Madison Bierl
HealThy Self Nutrition's Amanda Rigby, a registered dietician, speaks with Lakewood Ranch's Carrie Ehrlich. Ehrlich is a health coach who owns Transform Wellness and wanted to check out all of the information the expo provides.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Irina Danilova is a nurse practioner who opened her own clinic, Aurora Adult Primary Care, to provide preventive care and chronic disease management.
Photo by Madison Bierl
The Health and Wellness Expo provides the community an opportunity to connect with various teams within the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center as well as another 60 health and wellness vendors.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Venice's Laynie Schneider and Donna Johnson enjoy attending health related events and were happy to receive various free goodies when stopping by the booths.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch's Caryn Roelofs learns about Empath Tidewell Hospice from Amy Jones, who works as a professional relations liaison for teh company.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lifewave brand partner Sharon Newson explains all about patches that are advertised to provide more energy, more endurance and a quicker recovery to Sarasota's Dan Sepulveda. Sepulveda didn't believe they would work to relieve pain, but after placing a patch on his back and one on his shoulder, he said the pain subsided within 15 minutes.
Madison Bierl is the education and community reporter for the East County Observer. She grew up in Iowa and studied at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.
