When Maya Rodriguez was 13, black spots began affecting her vision. Soon after came balance issues and unexpected weakness in her leg that caused her to fall. Her symptoms were traced to multiple sclerosis; three years later, she was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
By 17, standing, walking, and joining in activities had become difficult, and a fear of falling left her using a transport wheelchair at home and in the community. At Barrow Neurological Institute's Movement Disorders Clinic in Phoenix, she began working with Whitney McGinn, PT, DPT, MSCS.
"I wanted to improve her confidence and endurance with walking in the home and eventually community distances, with an emphasis on dynamic balance."Whitney McGinn, PT, DPT, MSCS — Barrow Neurological Institute
Whitney used Aretech's ZeroG Gait and Balance System as one piece of Maya's intensive therapy. Because ZeroG protects against falling, Maya could safely attempt unsupported activities on her own.
"Being able to walk, learn how to function, and gain strength without the worry and fear gave me so much confidence, because I knew I wasn't going to fall."Maya Rodriguez
In her first session, with dynamic body-weight support set to 25%, Maya walked 172 feet. Over the following sessions the support was adjusted between 7% and 20% depending on the day, and her distance climbed steadily — by her fifth session she walked 1,406 feet, over 1,200 feet more than her first. Near the end of her time at Barrow, she was walking outside on uneven terrain with walking poles. Advanced work included Facilitation mode to push her speed and cadence, and TRiP perturbations to challenge her balance while standing, walking, turning, and seated.
Now 21, Maya completed an Aesthetics program at the East Valley Institute of Technology — where she was voted student of the year — and looks forward to becoming a practicing esthetician.