mobility aids

Starting treatment with Ocrevus early can lower almost by half the need for a walking aid in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) over six years, new analyses of Phase 3 trial data that compared immediate initiation with a two-year delay show. A separate analysis also found…

Kevin Schaefer hadn’t been in an airport since he was 4 years old, so he had been looking forward to flying from his home in Cary, North Carolina, to Anaheim, California, in June for the 2019 Cure SMA Conference. As it turned out, his experience didn’t go as expected.

I used the Bioness L300, a functional electrical stimulation (FES) device, for about seven years to counter my left foot drop. I strapped it to my leg just below the knee. As I began to take a step, it sent a low-intensity electrical pulse down a nerve that runs from…

It happened on the coldest day of the season. It was 16 degrees F with wind chill. I was outside, using my electric scooter to take Joey, our cocker spaniel, for his early morning walk. Joey had just finished his business. I was tying the poopie bag when I heard…

The other night, I had an MS dream. In it, I was able to lift my left leg as well as I can my right one, regardless of my weak hip flexor. I don’t usually know what’s triggered a dream, but this time I did: My Bioness L300 had…

Mayzent (siponimod) reduces the risk of people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) becoming dependent on a wheelchair, a new analysis of the EXPAND study shows. These findings further corroborate prior trial data demonstrating that Mayzent use delays disability progression and cognitive decline in SPMS patients. The results…

Ah, the sequel. Back in April, I wrote about getting an electric wheelchair and then spending hours working out how to get it going. Six months later, I may have cracked the challenge of driving it without putting cracks in my house. When a district nurse visited last…

Things had been going well with my electric wheelchair, but now I found myself out of control, heading toward the TV. I put my one good foot down in a feeble attempt to delay what seemed inevitable. Somehow, the foot — or perhaps sheer good luck — saved the TV.

I’ve used an electric scooter for nearly 20 years. At first, I only used it when I knew I’d be walking a lot. Now, it’s every day. I used a cane for several years before the scooter. I resisted using both, however, and I’ll bet that many of you who…

Living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is an education in and of itself. I’ve learned a lot about myself and I am a different person now, nine years after my diagnosis. I hope to learn and grow over the next nine years as MS continues to shape my perspective on life.

When I think of multiple sclerosis and falls, I tend to think about people who are upright and walking when it happens. I hadn’t considered the risks for people who spend most of their waking hours using a wheelchair or a scooter. Many studies have looked at people with MS…

In February of last year, I stopped. Walking more than a few steps was suddenly impossible. I’d fought, taken every medication and supplement possible, but I’d lost. Maybe positive thinking and mindfulness would have helped, but for me, that was a step too far! Research, organization, and…

When I was younger, I assumed that I wouldn’t require a mobility device until much later in my life. I wasn’t prepared for needing to use a cane or a walker in my 50s. My 2010 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis rearranged my life in many ways. And having…

Over the past few months, I’ve had a few things to say about actress Selma Blair and the very public way in which she’s been handling her MS diagnosis. When Blair went public with her MS last October, she did it on Instagram, writing, “I am…

Take a minute … and relax. It’s been a fraught few weeks of numerous solo hospital visits, as my wife was first dealing with a dying father and then helping to organize his funeral, estate, and her own turbulent emotions. Her mum had died only four months ago.

WeHealth, PathMaker Collaborating to Develop MyoRegulator as Noninvasive Treatment for Spasticity I’m one of the many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) for whom spasticity is a significant problem. This is a nonmedicinal approach to dealing with it. I hope it doesn’t take too long to make this…

When my wife and I were remodeling our two-story home many years ago, we made a few accessibility changes with my MS in mind. For example, we enlarged a first-floor half-bath to include a roll-in shower. We also installed a higher toilet and made sure there was space to…

  It’s happened to me, and if you fly with a scooter or a wheelchair, I bet it’s happened to you, too: a busted or missing set of wheels on arrival.   On a flight from Washington, D.C., to Venice, my scooter went to Copenhagen. On a flight from…

The L300, made by Bioness, is a functional electronic stimulator. It’s a cuff that I wear just below my left knee. It stimulates a nerve that lifts my foot and helps keep it from dragging. When I first got my L300 in 2012, it was a blessing.

A tragic car crash involving a man with MS is a reminder that we all should be just a little bit more careful than the average driver when we get behind the wheel. The accident happened in early October on a street in Eugene, Oregon. As reported by…

Third in a series. Read parts one and two. In March 2018, I began a personal research project — quest if you will — to assess how functional electrical stimulation (FES) devices might help me deal with the foot drop in my…

I’ve been using a mobility scooter for about 10 years. I use it anytime I need to walk more than about half a city block. I throw it in the back of my SUV, I’ve taken it on planes and cruise ships (I’ve ridden it in 15 or 16…

Second in a series. Read part one. The thing about functional electronic stimulation (FES) devices, at least to me, is waiting for them to engage. No matter how much I prepare myself, I’m still surprised — on pins and needles, if you will —…

Myomo, a wearable medical robotics company, announced that MyoPro — its myoelectric orthosis or powered brace — is now available for use by teenagers with paralyzed or weakened arms due to injuries or neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). MyoPro is a lightweight wearable device that helps restore functionality…

More investment and new technological developments are needed to assist people who have limited mobility because of lower-limb paralysis. That was the major conclusion of an international study undertaken by ComRes on behalf of the Toyota Mobility Foundation. Around the world, millions of people have lower-limb paralysis. In…

The royal blue kite struggled to stay in flight; the winds remained fickle on our day at the beach. I was mesmerized while watching a man and woman so fervently trying to manage the small diving diamond in the sky. The more I watched, the clearer the metaphor…

First in a series. For a minute or two, I felt like I was in a time machine. It was late March, and I was test driving (perhaps test walking) the WalkAide System, a functional electronic stimulation (FES) device designed, according…

A little over a year ago, in this column, I asked if it was safe for someone with MS to handle a gun. I wondered whether there would be safety issues due to problems with grip strength, balance, eyesight, and all the other various difficulties people with MS have…

It was late May 2014, and my wife and I were on our first trip to the Cleveland Clinic. We’d been to Cleveland for a wedding a few years earlier but had been too busy to explore. We booked a room at the…

The United Spinal Association will hold a webinar this week to seek ideas for making air travel better for wheelchair users, including multiple sclerosis patients. One focus of the event will be the problems wheelchair users have encountered at airports. Another will be bills in the U.S. House and Senate…