Help Chantel Walk Again
Donation protected
August 18, 2001, Chantel was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. No cure. Everyone is different. I didn't "look sick" for about 8 years.
I began to struggle walking about 2009. I started to drag my right foot from toe to heel, and fall. My right side had became very weak. It is called Foot Drop. Then I started phyiscal, occupational and speech therapies, I tried to keep up. I was given Ankle Foot Orthos (AFO) and have been using then since still falling but less.
Then the stress of divorce. Then becoming a single parent by my daughter's father passing, then my own father passing, led to my condition getting worse.
Frustrated, I asked about a sytem called Bioness Walk Aid. This system I had researched becuase I saw a volunteer at Shepherd Center using it, but he had had a stroke and said insurance would not cover it for MS patients. He was right.
• The system delivers electrical stimulation in a precise sequence, which then activates the muscles to lift the foot to take a step. The result may be a more natural walking pattern (gait) combined with enhanced stability and confidence.1
Then I requested a screening directly through Bioness. The company Bioness screened me with the L300 Foot Drop System, and I walked while my daughter Aria and church sister Debbie were there to see me walk "normal." I felt accomplished!
The funds donated will help me to purchase the system which cost about $6500. The company has given me a hardship discount of $3000. Also, CareCredit will allow me to use their card, that I use for Aria's braces, if I clear a portion of that balance - $800.
Thank you for helping us to achieve a life of contentment
-Chantel & Aria
Organizer
Chantel Small
Organizer
Douglasville, GA