Jun
30
Saving Grace: Device gives walking help to those with disorders
Filed Under News, Personal Stories, Research | 2 Comments
By Laci Holcombe | FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Three lightweight, wireless devices have given Lubbock resident Frank Jones grace – something multiple sclerosis stole from him several years ago.
Jones, a Vietnam veteran who has retired from the Army and lives on a farm, still has bruises from his last fall. He tripped in his living room and banged his head against a closet door.
But the bruises will fade soon, and Jones hasn’t had a bad fall since purchasing the NESS L300, a relatively new device that uses mild electrical stimulation to help people with neurological disorders and traumatic injuries walk.
Jones, 67, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2003, but he lived with the symptoms for 35 years before his diagnosis. The disease progressed to the point where several years ago he developed foot drop, a condition in which a person can’t lift his or her toes when walking.
The L300 uses electrical pulses to lift a person’s toes and foot while he or she is walking.
It’s intended to help people with traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. Made by the Bioness company, the device received Food and Drug Administration clearance in July 2006.
It has a pressure sensor that goes under the heel, a stimulator that looks like a knee brace, and a control unit the patient can put in a pocket or wear around his or her neck. The three pieces work together wirelessly.
Jones, a man who is quick to smile and passes his days on his farm, said the device has taken the edge off an unpredictable disease.
For more information (and contact information for the company that makes the device), read the rest via Saving Grace: Device gives walking help to those with disorders | FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL.
Jun
24
Ennis football coach Harrell reveals he has MS | Dallas Morning News
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Longtime Ennis football coach Sam Harrell said Wednesday that he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis four years ago but is just now telling anyone of his condition.
Harrell said he felt like he needed to address his health with his family, coaches and players because it has progressively worsened.
Harrell, 53, has led the Lions to 13 consecutive playoff appearances, three state championships (2000, 2001 and 2004) and is 148-46 in 15 seasons at Ennis.
“I have MS. It’s true. But I’m not quitting or retiring or anything else,” Harrell said. “I just have to be flexible with what I do, but nothing is going to change.”
Harrell said he was diagnosed with MS in 2005 and only his wife, Kathy, and their parents knew about his condition until April.
In April, Harrell told his three sons, Zac, an assistant football coach at Prosper; Graham, a record-setting quarterback who led Texas Tech to an 11-2 record last season; and Clark, an Abilene Christian quarterback.
Around May 1, as Ennis was going through spring drills, Harrell brought his team together and told his coaches and players.
“I told them tomorrow is not going to be any different than today,” Harrell said.
MS is a condition in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system. MS affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other. Life expectancy of MS patients is nearly the same as those unaffected.
Harrell said MS affects everyone differently, and he is taking medication for it. He said his balance, coordination and mobility have been affected.
“Heat is really a big factor in it. When you get hot, your mobility and coordination decreases, and most days I’m going to get up and get hot,” Harrell said. “It has continued to get worse, and I thought it was time to disclose it and make sure people understood why I couldn’t do some things that you should be able to do, like get outside and show them how to run routes. But coaching isn’t about demonstrating, it’s about teaching, so I just don’t worry about demonstrating.”
Harrell said that on hot days at practice the last few years, he’s coached from a golf cart.
“When it was really hot, I just couldn’t do some things,” Harrell said. “Now, I’ll be in a golf cart every day and not just on the really hot days. You just have to adapt.”
read the rest via Ennis football coach Harrell reveals he has MS | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News.
Jun
21
ST. PAUL, Minn., June 19 (UPI) — Twenty-seven percent of multiple sclerosis patients are declining to fill their prescriptions, U.S. researchers said.
The survey, conducted by pharmacy benefits manager Prime Therapeutics, says the survey indicates patients with an out-of-pocket expense greater than $250 were seven times more likely to decline to fill their prescription than patients with an out-of-pocket cost of $100 or less.
The study concludes that the increase in the number of patients who decline to fill their MS specialty prescriptions and do not continue taking the necessary MS medications may adversely affect long-term patient care.
The majority of those surveyed had an out-of-pocket expense of $150 or less and their decline-to-fill rate was 5.8 percent. For people with an out-of-pocket expense of greater than $150 the decline-to-fill rate was 27 percent.
read the rest via Many MS patients not filling prescriptions – UPI.com.
Jun
19
Protecting Your Job While Chronically Ill – NYTimes.com
Filed Under Work & Disability | Leave a Comment
It started with an odd sensation in her right hand and a feeling of exhaustion so profound she could hardly get through an hour of work, let alone a full day.
After numerous tests and countless doctors’ visits, Natasha Frechette, then 27, learned she had multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the central nervous system and can cause numbness, blindness and eventual paralysis.
In addition to grappling with the diagnosis, Ms. Frechette was concerned about keeping her job as a data manager for a small research organization in Brooklyn Park, Minn. “I didn’t want to have to depend on someone to take care of me,” she said. “But I know that I could wake up tomorrow and not be able to walk.”
Workers with chronic illnesses face chronic uncertainty, forced to worry not only about their health but about their jobs as well. The protections afforded chronically ill workers in the United States are thin and somewhat vague. To protect their health and their jobs, workers must navigate employers’ policies, which may include short- and long-term disability plans, as well as a patchwork of federal laws and regulations.
A recent study by the Center for Economics and Policy Research, a Washington, D.C., research organization, found that among 22 rich nations, the United States is the only one that does not guarantee workers paid time off for illness.
Most other countries provide their workers not only with paid sick days, but also time off for cancer treatments, the study found. German citizens, for example, are allowed five sick days and 44 days for cancer treatment, if needed, in addition to vacation days.
Most employers in the United States allow employees to take days off for minor ailments, like the flu or outpatient operations, without docking their pay. And 41 percent offer employees days off — nine, on average — for illness or other reasons, in addition to vacation days, according to a 2007 survey by Mercer, a benefits consulting business based in New York.
But when an employee has a serious or chronic illness, like diabetes, major depression or lupus, the rules about time off become murky.
read the rest via Protecting Your Job While Chronically Ill – NYTimes.com.