Donations are ended...goal is met!

‌Eden, as most of you know, has Multiple Sclerosis. Her worst symptom is her leg doesn't receive brain signals to walk properly. Plus her leg feels like she has sandbags attached to it! She recently found a device that straps on her leg and allows her to walk unaided! Wow! The drawback is that insurance won't cover it and it costs $5000. Please donate any amount that you can. I love you all and appreciate you! Thank you so much! And please read her story below.
Thank you all and God bless each and every one of you!!!!  - Ro

Hi guys!  This is Eden.  Just wanted to share some super exciting news with you. As you know, I had a relapse in March 2014 and it significantly affected my left leg/foot. Although I am in remission now, the relapse damaged the nerves that send signals to my left leg, and that unfortunately has remained with me. The signal to the nerves haven't been completely severed, but the signal that the brain sends to the leg/foot to walk is significantly interrupted (picture a frayed iPhone USB cable that intermittently charges.)
I've been researching a walking device called "Walkaide" for over a year now, and I wanted to see if it would help me walk normally again. I met with a local Orthotist in January to get the testing process started. Yesterday Troy and I went in for the final fitting/trial to see if I would be a good candidate for a Walkaide device. After programming the computer to learn my gait, the device was ready for me to try wirelessly. I tested it out in the office at first, up and down the hallway, and although it was very foreign/odd at first, it completely picked up my left foot so that I could walk without dragging/scraping it on the ground. The device sends an electrical shock to my peroneal nerve (the nerve responsible for carrying the signal from the brain to the foot to "pick up" as you walk - something that happens thousands of times per day, effortlessly in everyone without nerve damage!)

After a few minutes of walking in the office, I wanted to test it out in the real world - so I walked outside the office into a residential/commercial neighborhood of San Luis Obispo. This particular section of California Blvd. is pretty hilly, and typically I wouldn't attempt walking it in my current condition, let alone without holding my husband's hand for support. But as I walked outside, my left leg felt, for the first time in years, as if I didn't have Multiple Sclerosis. My disease is somewhat "invisible" to others because I don't typically use a cane or a mobility aid (other than my husband's hand for support.)

Even though my disease is invisible to others, it's always present to me. Not a second goes by that I don't feel the effects of it on my left leg. Even in a good moment or day, my leg feels extremely heavy, as if I've strapped a 25 pound sandbag to it and am attempting to walk normally. That's on a good day. And when my leg is fatigued, or if I've had a long day, or if the weather is above 80 degrees, my leg feels as if there are four sandbags strapped to it, and I'm trying to wade through waist-high water, fully clothed, with a backpack full of bricks strapped to my back. It's exhausting just walking or even standing a short distance when my left leg is fatigued.

But putting on the Walkaide did something to my left leg... and it was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It was as if the sandbags were removed, and I was able to have function in my left leg equal to my right leg. My leg felt lighter. Just completely normal, for once. Something I haven't experienced in over two years now. It was so exciting that I wanted to walk around the block of the office - up the steep hill on California Blvd, over and around, and back up the steep hill back to the office. As we were nearing the office, my foot started to "slap" the pavement slightly and I knew that meant that my left leg was getting fatigued - so I turned up the intensity on the Walkaide to 2 (I initially had it set very low, to just under 1 - out of 10) so after turning up the intensity, my foot stopped slapping the sidewalk and I was able to safely walk uphill back to the office.

I had no idea how incredible this device would make my leg feel and I never imagined it would give me back mobility in a way that I didn't know was possible! The only downside to the device is that insurance absolutely does not cover it. My Orthotist suggested that I set up an online fundraising campaign to help cover the costs of the device. The device costs around $5,000. Eek. He also gave me a list of national funding resources to check out. We just need to go through the list and filter through which ones I'm eligible for and request applications. The national funding sources don't cover the entire cost for the Walkaide but I believe some do grant a small portion to go towards the final cost of the device.

It's all very exciting and I'm encouraged first and foremost that I am a candidate for it and that I was able to walk so incredibly well with it. My Othotist said my walk was "absolutely textbook" and that he couldn't have asked for a better outcome!

Our God is faithful, and as far off as getting this walking device may seem, I know that nothing is impossible for God! We're excited to see how He will work all of this out for our good and His glory! Please keep us in your prayers as we explore applying for the different national funding and if we do start a fundraising campaign, what that would look like and how we would go about it all.
Thanks, love you guys!
 - E  

Click the link below to watch a video of me walking for the first time with theWalkaide!  
http://youtu.be/eWTckvbvzY4 ‌