Dear Therapy Technologies,
The first time I was introduced to the concept of NeuroWalk, it was exciting, thrilling, and encouraging.
As Alan and I talked through it, he suggested that I should give it a try. The offer was thoughtful and considerate, but at the same time a few concerns started to bubble in my head. Am I strong enough to be able to stand-up? Are my knees going to be positioned securely to be able to withstand my body weight? If I do manage to stand up, am I going to be able to balance myself? And if I do balance myself standing, would it be able to simulate walking without falling?
I’m a regular visitor to the fitness center, but generally, standing up is not in my repertoire. Having said that, the fear of standing up and ultimately hurting and humiliating myself was high. Additionally, prior to that day I hadn’t gotten up in the standing position in a couple of years. In short, there was a bit of fear that was taking over.
However, as soon as I positioned myself on to the chair of the NeuroWalk, and started lifting up myself up to the vertical position, the fears and concerns I had started to fade away,
The moment I stood up an immense sense of power and courage took over me, which pushed every bit of concern I had out the window. I became convinced that my legs and feet were stable and secure. Also, as weak as my back and side muscles are I didn’t need to be concerned for balancing myself. NeuroWalk gave me a sense of safety and most importantly it gave me the sense of hope. The sense that I could transfer myself onto the NeuroWalk chair, lift myself up, stand up, and simulate walking all independently, was ecstatic.
Many would relate to this, being a paraplegic and not having spasms, which allows you to maintain the muscle tone in the legs, makes it difficult to balance the muscle tone between the upper and lower body. Struggles such as how much I want to train my arms versus legs are always present. When it comes to exercising my legs unfortunately there are not too many options. Getting on the NeuroWalk gave me the hope that with only a very little application of my arms’ strength I could engage my entire body and improve the muscles in the entire body.
I am very grateful I was able to try this amazing, life-changing piece of equipment, and look forward to the near future when I am able to have my own NeuroWalk at home.
Sincerely,
Joseph K.
Minneapolis MN
Computer Programmer, T12-L1 Paraplegic