At one time, doctors told Debi Sjoberg she would never walk again. At 39 she suffered a stroke that paralyzed her left side. "When i woke up I knew immediately something was wrong because I could feel my face was drooping." For years she struggled with cumbersome braces that restricted her movement.
Gina Marino, physical therapist, "I was very frightened. I'd always had my husband next to me holding me because I felt like I was always going to fall over." That fear changed when Debi started using walk-aide. The electronic device worn just below the knee sends an electrical pulse to the nerves, allowing the muslces to contract and lift her foot. "Without the walk-aide her foot would turn in and her ankle would push to the side and her toe would drag."
A computer program sets the gait for each person. The more Debi uses it, the more her muscles respond. "The first time she put the walk-aide on, her gait looked as normal as I can remember in all the years that I've worked with her. It took away a lot of the patterns that she had gotten into."
"You don't realize how much it takes away from your life and because of this little thing, it's given me my life back." Daily chores no longer seem impossible, giving Debi the confidence and courage to carry on after the stroke.
Walk aide is covered by insurance about 40-percent of the time and costs about 45-hundred dollars. It's used for people with brain injuries, multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions. People with pacemakers or those who suffer from seizures shouldn't use it.
