WalkAide issues: ink and mink

I have purchased a WalkAide System to help minimize foot-drop related to my diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. So far, the device is working well.

Next on my Walkaide to-do list is to get a few simple, yet elegant tattoos on my lower right leg to help me place the device correctly so that it will function properly. (If the electrodes are not in the right place, the device won’t work.)

I’m considering two options for the tattoos. Either small dots that look like freckles or small stars placed to look like a constellation, such as the Big Dipper. The first would probably be less painful, while the second seems more creative. It’s a difficult choice, but nonetheless, I plan to be inked by the end of the week.

One of my favorite things about the WalkAide is that I can wear attractive shoes again — not the el-dorko kind that you wear when you use a leg brace, which I did for many years. (If you are interested in a good deal on some slightly used el-dorko shoes, just holler.)

I am also working to resolve a Walkaide-related fashion challenge. I purchased and wore capris with the device this summer, but the legs of most long pants aren’t big enough to wear a Walkaide inside them.  I don’t own any palazzo pants or long skirts. They’re just not my style, but maybe it’s time to get some.

Even in the Deep South, where I live, the clichéd frost is already on the pumpkin, and this Halloween weekend is the coldest I can remember. I need winter clothes — skirts and pants, because I will move my capris from the closet to the cedar chest soon. I don’t consider bare calves with goosebumps in November to be a fashion-forward option.

Might I receive an invitation to a fancy holiday soiree this year? It’s possible. I guess I should put some thought into getting gussied up in a fancy outfit. And maybe, I should go ahead and plan to borrow a mink coat from a friend, just in case.

(NOTE: If this post interests you, you might want see my previous posts about the Walkaide System.)

The WalkAide for the long haul

Just a couple more items to check off my to-do-list, and I expect to be the proud owner of a WalkAide.

FIRST — EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE

I’m exercising even more now that I’m planning to purchase the WalkAide. I do this additional exercise to further strengthen my ankle, leg and hip, and to improve my balance. In some cases, I’m attempting to improve muscle function that’s been impaired for ten or more years. I don’t expect it to be a walk in the park, but it’s doable.

So, in addition to my normal four-day-a-week exercise schedule, I exercise at home as much as I can. Most often, I exercise while watching television in the evenings — especially during commercials.

SECOND — SAVE THOSE PENNIES

After some checking around, I understand that my primary medical insurance provider (Medicare) won’t help pay for the WalkAide in my case. And because it doesn’t pay, neither does my secondary insurance provider (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama).

I researched the situation, and the way I understand it, Medicare would pay a portion of the cost of the device if I had been diagnosed with an incomplete spinal cord injury. But because my diagnosis is multiple sclerosis, medical insurance will not help me. I further understand that diagnoses of cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and stroke also would result in nonpayment by Medicare as well as private insurance providers.

Other funding sources are few and far between. One exception is the Alabama chapter of the National MS Society. I want to thank that organization for helping me with the cost of the WalkAide.

HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA — ONE GAP IN THE SYSTEM

I feel fortunate that I can afford to purchase this device, and I find it unfair that so many others who need it cannot afford it.

This situation is only one example of the many gaps in our country’s healthcare system. This gap keeps many Americans with MS and other conditions from using new technologies, such as the WalkAide, to improve their gait.

NOTE: I want to thank the people who sell the WalkAide system for posting a link on WalkAide’s Facebook page to one of my earlier blog postings about my experience with the device.

Getting the hang of the Walk Aide

I am again testing the Walk Aide. And this time I am taking it seriously and asking a lot of questions.

I have learned three important lessons — how to take care of the electrodes, how to make sure that I put the device in the right place on my leg, and how and when to use the exercise mode.

First: Take care the electrodes.

Before I place the Walk Aide on my leg each morning, I put a small amount of water on the electrodes to ensure a strong electrical connection. When I remove the device at the end of the day, I cover the electrodes with a thick plastic film. To further protect the electrodes, I keep the Walk Aide in a sealed plastic bag. when I am not wearing it. (With proper care, the electrodes can last for a month.)

Second: Put the Walk Aide in the correct spot.

Even though my leg is marked with a permanent marker at the spot where I place the active electrode, that mark can fade or wear off. So I keep a permanent marker with me at all times to re-mark my leg. I am especially careful to re-mark my it after swimming or bathing. For the device to work, the electrode must be placed directly on that mark. (For best results, the mark should be in the exact center of the electrode.)

Third: Use the exercise mode each morning.

The five-minute exercise mode wakes up the peroneal nerve so that the Walk Aide can do its magic. With the device in exercise mode, I sit with my leg fully extended and my ankle supported on a small step-stool, and I watch how the device moves my foot. The Walk Aide is supposed to raise the front of my foot and move it slightly to the outside. When the it lifts my foot during the exercise mode, I try to assist it to strengthen my weak calf muscles. If my foot moves too far up or outward in the exercise mode, I can readjust the dial on the Walk Aide before I start walking.

One more thing while I’m at it: The effects of fatigue

I have worn the Walk Aide an average of eight hours a day. The more I wear it, the less my foot and ankle muscles feel fatigued at the end of the day. Still, I pay close attention to the way my foot and ankle feel. When fatigue begins to set in, the front of my foot doesn’t lift far enough, and I can easily trip and fall. (Past experience has proven that I am a talented and versatile faller. Past falls have caused  injuries ranging from small bruises to a large broken bone.)

Have you used a Walk Aide or Bioness device to help with foot drop? Tell me about your experience.

FUTURE WALK AIDE POSTS:  Doing exercises to strengthen my foot, ankle, leg and hip. And deciding whether or not to purchase the contraption.

WalkAide: some days it works better than others

On Friday, I used the WalkAide at two Independence Day celebrations — one was a luncheon and the other involved dinner, a party and a community fireworks display.  I did a lot of walking outdoors on uneven ground. I was stepping up and down curbs, and as the evening wore on, I noticed I was walking more slowly.

I think I use different muscles when I walk with the WalkAide than when I walk with a brace, which causes my foot and leg to tire somewhat over time.

Saturday didn’t go well as previous days. I went shopping for clothes at a large consignment shop and followed that with a quick trip to the grocery store. I tried adjusting the location and the intensity of the device, but by the time I got to the grocery store, I felt as if I were having to concentrate on picking up my foot on every step. I was walking slowly and with difficulty.

So while my response to the WalkAide this week has been a positive one overall, I would like to work more with Todd to tweak the settings and recheck the placement of the device on my leg. I plan to ask him if  I can keep the device a little longer before I decide whether to buy it. It is expensive and my insurance doesn’t cover it.

I have an appointment with Todd on Tuesday.

WalkAide: pros and cons

PLACEMENT PROBLEMS

The  WalkAide works well for me when I put it in just the right spot on my leg. But that’s not as easy as it sounds.

When I got the device for this test-drive, Todd was ever so helpful in showing me how it worked and how to wear it. He made some marks  on my leg with a “permanent” Sharpie marker so I would know exactly where to put the WalkAide. But the marks on my leg wore off easily, and I have found that it is difficult to remember what its proper placement is.

Bess, a physical therapist,  helped me re-mark my leg a few days ago, but between daily showers and lotion applications, twice-weekly aquatic exercise class and “glowing” in the deep South summer heat, the marks on my leg seem to fade away as soon as I look in the other direction. (Well, almost.)

If I don’t put the WalkAide on my leg in just the right place, it will stimulate a nerve other than the peroneal (and move the front part of my foot to the side instead of upward) or it will fail to stimulate any nerve at all. At a result, I have spent a lot of time just getting the device in the right place.

For those of you out there in cyberspace who have MS, you know that this problem can be especially frustrating, especially if your eyesight  or your hands aren’t cooperating on a particular day.

BYE BYE BRACE, HELLO SANDALS

One of the best things about the WalkAide is that I don’t have to wear a brace anymore. Wearing a brace has a lot of downsides. In an earlier post, I mentioned that the braces I wore have weakened my ankle and reduced its range of motion.

Then there are the even more important, fashion-related concerns. For one thing, braces look best when camouflaged by clothing, such as pants or jeans. Put another way, a white plastic knee-ankle brace with a visible hinge and wide velcro fasteners is not the most stylin’ accessory with a short skirt or a pair of shorts. That’s why my closet is full of boot leg jeans and pants. If the WalkAide works for me and I purchase it, I will take a lot of those pants and jeans to consignment shops and replace them with skirts and shorts.

A brace limits one’s choice of shoes. Most of the time I wore New Balance shoes with my brace. Other footwear options include fancier shoes you can purchase in places that fit orthotics and braces. But let’s face it, these shoes and boots are not featured in fashion magazines. They are not attractive at all. And they are expensive. I have experienced problems with fit and comfort with these shoes. I found that they were difficult to put on over the brace, were uncomfortable to wear, and made walking even more difficult.

I probably have four or five pair of these kinds of shoes in a variety of colors and styles collecting dust in my closet. I haven’t exactly worn down the heels or scuffed the toes. Yee-haw, I can wear sandals and cowboy boots again!

Debuting the WalkAide at Wally World

Yesterday, I wore the WalkAide in public for the first time. I went to Wal-Mart and the grocery store and attended an exercise class.

WAL-MART

I debuted my WalkAide at Wally World, where I went to buy shorts. I decided that while I was out, I would pick up some cat litter, which I knew Jem, my Maine coon cat, would appreciate.

As some of you may know, I live in the deep South,where almost everyone lives in shorts all summer. I hadn’t worn shorts in public for years, because I was self-conscious about my brace.  So I was excited about wearing shorts again.

Leaving the house, I wore the WalkAide under a pair of jeans, where it bulged as if I had cauliflower knee. Using my cane for balance, I ambled inside the store and grabbed a shopping cart (or buggy, as we say in the South).

With six pairs of shorts in my buggy, I entered a fitting room. But trying them on wasn’t as easy as I had thought it would be. My right ankle and leg muscles felt weak after I removed the device. My foot and leg didn’t want to cooperate as tried on the shorts, but I select three denim pairs — dark blue, faded blue and white — to meet my summer wardrobe needs. On the way to the check-out counter, I grabbed a jumbo jug of cat litter and left the store feeling tired, but happy, that I hadn’t fallen or otherwise embarrassed myself.

EXERCISE CLASS AND THE GROCERY STORE

I drove across town and attended an aquatics exercise class for people who have been diagnosed with MS. I removed the WalkAide and got in the cool indoor swimming pool for the 60-minute class. I appreciated the positive feedback about my gait and walking speed that I received from classmates and the instructor. After class, when I put the device back on and walked to the locker room to change clothes, my leg felt fatigued, and changing back into my street clothes took a little longer than usual.

Getting my second wind, I drove to the grocery store and snagged the second shopping cart (buggy) of the day. I walked comfortably up and down the aisles and picked out the groceries I needed for the week.

As I loaded the car, I finally felt like I was getting the hang of wearing the WalkAide in public. The visit to the store didn’t take any longer than usual, and I didn’t notice any additional fatigue. Victory was mine! I had made it through my first full day using the WalkAide.

When I got home, I noticed some stiffness in my right ankle, and I realized I wasn’t used to walking so much without the brace, which had affected my ankle’s flexibility and range of motion. I put away the groceries, and Jem practically jumped for joy when he saw the cat liter.

PLEASE SEND ME YOUR COMMENTS

Please send me your comments about this post. Have you tried a WalkAide or other similar device? What kind of results did you have? Are you still using it? Do you have any advice or suggestions?

Will a WalkAide help my foot drop?

I have had foot drop since I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than 15 years ago. This week, I’m trying something new in an attempt to improve my foot drop and gait — a medical device called a WalkAide. I will blog about my experience daily and let y’all know how it goes.

Foot drop is an  interruption of the natural nerve-to-muscle communication between the brain and the leg, which inhibits one’s ability to lift the foot naturally. It can be caused by stroke, incomplete spinal cord or traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, or, as in my case, multiple sclerosis. According to a WalkAide marketing brochure, the device “restores this lost communication by sending electrical signals to your peroneal nerve, which controls movement in your ankle and foot.”

BACKGROUND

For the past 10 or so years, I have worn a brace on my affected leg (the right one) to improve my gait. I have had four or five braces in that time. I credit the braces for helping with my foot drop, keeping me from locking out my knee when I walk and generally stabilizing my gait. But  the downside to wearing a brace is that my ankle stays in one position all day, and, as a result, I have lost significant range of movement and strength in that joint.

My right knee isn’t anything to write home about, either. I have had it scoped twice –had torn cartilage removed and a torn meniscus repaired, among other things. I am currently seeing a physical therapist in conjunction with using the WalkAide. She is helping me strengthen my ankle and some of leg muscles, including my hamstring,  that have been weakened by MS.

I expect the WalkAide to improve my foot-drop and gait problems and, at the same time, to allow me to strengthen my ankle and improve its flexibility.

WHAT I’LL DO THIS WEEK

The Walk Aide is a “cuff” that is worn directly below the knee of the affected leg, which in my case is the right leg. It has two modes of operation — training and walking. I will use both modes daily.

I will sit with my right leg dangling from a seat or table for five minutes three times a day while wearing the WalkAide in the training mode.  This mode is designed to “wake up” the peroneal nerve to help it respond as well as possible to the electrical stimulation from the WalkAide. In the walking mode, the device is set to produce an electrical stimulation to the peroneal mode and raise the front part of my foot at a specific point in my gait.

I will wear it daily as much as possible and see how it works in different situations. I will wear it while I am at home. And today, for example, I will wear it on my trip to the grocery store. So that’s the plan. I’ll report back daily to let you know how it goes.

SEND COMMENTS!

Please send me your comments about foot drop and the WalkAide. Have you tried a WalkAide or other similar device? What kind of results did you have? Are you still using it? Any advice?