GaitAid Virtual Walker Testimonials

"I have used the GaitAid for my patients with varying stages of Parkinson's Disease, in addition to those sufferiing from other neurological disorders. The GaitAid has become a mainstay of my treatments, as it provides visual and auditory cues during gait training. All too often therapy concentrates on movements but neglects sensory inputs. With the GaitAid it is easy to provide true "sensorimotor" physical therapy. The biggest surprise is that it even helps chronic conditions and late-stage Parkinson's. Thank you GaitAid for allowing me to truly help my patients!"

It was 15 Years ago when our family Doctor told us that my wife Jeanne was showing signs and could possibly have Parkinsonism .We were preparing that week to take Jeanne’s Mother on a cross country road trip, which included stops in Steamboat,Colo., Las Vegas Nv. Where our Daughter lived, and South Lake Tahoe.
We were both shocked at the possibility of this being true. At that point we made the decision to go ahead with our trip and have further testing upon our return. Jeanne insisted we not tell her Mother until a definite diagnosis was made. I guess we were both wishing this could be a bad dream and we would wake up and all would be well.
We had a beautiful trip, however upon our return we had to face real life, Jeanne was diagnosed with having the first stages of Parkinsonism. At that time we owned a Decorating and Remodeling business, Jeanne did most of the Design, Crown Moldings and trim work, but her ability to accomplish this and other tasks diminished in just a few months because of her tremors.
Jeanne Says” I really miss the nice Clients we worked for and the ability to work and use my God given talents, I loved doing the drawings and paperwork. With medication my shaking has improved but my penmanship got so small it was hardly legible “
We operated the business a few more years and as Jeanne’s symptoms worsened we retired in 1999.
Jeanne Says “ Later on mobility became a serious problem, my shuffling got worse and the freezups became ever present, I was falling frequently, and was lucky I only had broken ribs on a couple of occasions, It became necessary to use a Scooter, Walker, and a Cane. Dan has always been there to help me and encourage me when tasks became difficult. Adjusting my medications didn’t help a lot and often caused nausea Problems.”
We always enjoyed visiting Family, But as the Disease progressed we were pretty much limited to day trips, the freezups and shuffling became severe of which medication had very little effect.
Jeanne has been a trooper through all of this, she has never given up hope or said, “I can’t do this”. Even with all the Therapy and exercise programs she has always been eager to do whatever is necessary.
This is the point in our lives when we heard by way of a newsletter from Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation about a Company called Medigait and their Virtual Walker training device called Gait Aid,
After some research and reading testimonials, we talked to a representative, aquired the device, and started a training program. It takes us about one minute to put the device on and be ready to train. We started training 20 minutes twice daily every day, unless Jeanne was having an off day.
We immediately saw positive results, within 2 weeks a noted improvement, and after 3 months the Shuffling and freezups were almost non-existent, except sometimes in crowds.
As of April 2010 Jeanne has been training with the virtual Walker for I year, currently the training schedule is one 15 min. session on Monday and Tuesday then 5 days off.’on a flexible schedule’. Of course she still does her muscle strengthening and stretching exercises 3 mornings a week.
Medigait Support has always been more than helpful with the phases of the training and exercise programs.
The improvement over the past year is amazing to our Friends, our Doctors, and us.
Jeanne says “I have gained so much in the past year, My Freezups are now non existent except at times when I am in a large crowd, and my walking has improved so much I don’t need to use my scooter .I still take my cane just for that feeling of security .My coordination in getting dressed has also improved considerably. Two weeks ago Dan and I took a 7-day vacation to Florida and South Alabama where I got to go fishing and walk barefoot on the beach, also caught more fish than Dan. I am so thankful I can now recapture many of the things I have been missing like Travel, Family visits, Fishing, Camping, Shopping, And music. We now meet with a group and play music on Thursdays, and I am relearning the mountain dulcimer”
I can’t think of a person more deserving of this freedom than my wife Jeanne; she is a sweet person who has only good to say about everyone. We are both so thankful to Professor Baram for developing this device and to Audrey Holmes Baram for all her support.
Before the Virtual Walker became available we had pretty much exhausted our search for anything that would give us hope.
Our hope now is that others will be made aware of this device.

Dan Crace, Hamilton ,Alabama

Dear Audrey, Yes, I am having good results using the medigait device. People are commenting on how much smoother and faster I am walking.
I am taking my time using it and find that most days I use it once rather than the two times you recommend. I am wanting to follow your advice and will see how it goes this week.
My eye doctor, my nurologist, my Pilatis teacher, my family have all tried it out and the docs said they would check it out on the web. The kids and grankids think its cool. Thanks for checking in.

I have used it on 2 patients so far, both with very good results. The only bad news to report is that my patients are end-stage Parkinson's, with worsening dementia, hallucinations, etc., and I had to discharge one patient due to his medical complications. The other patient has made progress with her gait. Her freezing is definitely diminished. But she is also deteriorating.

Anyway, I am definitely a big fan of the MediGait. If I get a patient who is in an earlier stage of the disease I will let you know of the progress.

Thank you for your note. I received the GaitAid Walker and my first 2
sessions have been very encouraging. I was able to walk faster than normal
and without freezing--also I walked much more than I'm typically able to do.
I even walked around the block this afternoon which I haven't been able to
do in many, many months.

Hi Audrey its hard for me to type so this will be short. When I first put on the glasses I felt really safe my gait definitely improved I could change directions faster and turning was easier.--best Terry

I recieved my glasses today, I am so excited! I dont quite yet know what to do with them except walk which I have already tried with a marked improvement. I still have trouble going thru doorways but then again I have all but ten minutes of time with the glasses. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. I will keep in touch with you . And also those are two great looking kids that you have. What are their names? Thankyou for helping me in my quest to walk again.

"As soon as I tried it my mobility improved tremendously! For the first time in over a year I am already walking without a cane. I am so impressed and so greatful. I was dreading my planned trip out of the country until I received your glasses. I cannot wait to share the miracle with my friends who suffer from PD. Thank you!"

"I'm just so excited! The gait training gadget is working for George. The minute he put it on he walked down the hall without me helping him start up. So you can imagine how excited we are!"

"Before using the Virtual Walker, I was very afraid to walk, it was impossible to keep up with anyone. I couldn't walk without my walker. I couldn't even open the front door of the apartment without losing my balance. Even though I had a million questions, I bought the device because I was willing to take a chance. I would only take my walker to the bathroom, not anywhere else. Now I go downstairs to get the mail and wander around the apartment. I didn't notice the change in my walking, my wife did. Now I practice up to 4 times a day. Thank you for such a beautiful product."

Steve Friedman, PD and MS patient, Brooklyn, NY

"I noticed a change in his walking in the very first session. After 10 or 15 minutes, I've never seen him walk like that since he got Parkinson's disease. He has MS too, so it's even harder. After the second day, he was walking much better. I hoped this would help because I had read about brain plasticity in my research, looking for something to help Steve. The Virtual Walker even helped Steve with his drop foot. It strengthens his muscles and helps with the quality of life. After using the device about 20 times he has now started to walk short distances without any aid at all. No cane or walker. The nice part is the device makes you want to do it properly. He likes it. We would never send this device back. I've not seen anything else that helps as much as this. I hope a lot of people will use this device. They will benefit."

Margarita Friedman, wife of PD and MS patient

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"I ordered the gaitaid for my father. He now calls it his magic box. As soon as he put it on he was able to walk through doorways without freezing. He wore just the audio to play golf and won the round. Is it the sound and video together that might retrain his brain?
I am sold on it. We have been telling everyone about it. Dad took it to his last doctor's appointment to show it off.

We think it is fantastic. From the moment my Dad put it on he stopped freezing. We took a walk on Thanksgiving with the device on and my Dad actually skipped. I hope you will get my message on the forum also.
Thank you for your support and for the GaitAid."
Debra Snook, Clarkston WA

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I do feel the GaitAid has helped me. My big problem now is tremor and dyskinesia that I am trying to resolve by adjusting my meds with little success so far. I have tried to use the gaitaid when I am tremoring but find it difficult as my head tremors as well. But, I have not given up on it and feel that it has helped even though I have not been able to give it the attention I should. I plan to take it along to my next neuro appt. Will stay in touch and appreciate your note.

Thank you,
Sharon

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"Today I took the goggles to the Brooklyn Parkinson Group.

The most amazing results were achieved by those who had the worst gait!!!

One man who besides having Parkinson had had a stroke recently and his limbs
were all over the place. After five minutes of practice he was having total
control of his legs and arms. At the end I asked him to test his residual
memory. He walked as well as if he had the googles and walked back into the
room proud and tall!

Another person had very bad stability. He walked crossing his right foot in
front of his left one constantly. I called this fact to his attention and
asked to keep each foot on each side of the tiles. That solved the problem
and he began to walk better and better until he got the right rhythm,
started swinging his arms, had long steps, sometimes slow, sometimes fast,
all of them of even length. Residual memory was also fantastic.

I wish you had been there. You would have rejoiced!"

Margarita Friedman, Brooklyn, NY

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"My father is 68 years old. He has been suffering from Parkinson disorder for 10 years. He has been using Audio-Visual Walker device almost a year. From the first time he used the device I could see huge mprovement. The most important thing was that from the freezing state he often suffered, he could walk again free. Now he no longer has problems with walking and walks like a healthy person. He doesn't need to use the device any more."
Itay Kavaler, Israel, son of a Parkinson's disease patient

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"When Jerry puts on the glasses and uses the device his gait is so markedly improved that I wouldn't automatically perceive that he has Parkinsons."

Leah Strauss, Julian, CA

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"Steve got diagnosed with MS in 1988. He was doing fine but about 6
or 7 years ago he began having problems with his balance and frequent falls.
Because of that he began walking looking at the floor and with his back
bent. It only aggravated the problem. By the time he was diagnosed with
Parkinson he got even worst and weaker because he is was so afraid of
falling that he developed strange positions to "keep his balance".
I wished I had learned about this devise four five years ago. We would not
be having these problems now. Yesterday, while we were doing our 30 minute
practice he told me something that was very revealing.
He said:
"I feel my body is more real. The leg that is usually numb I can feel it
when I am walking. It is like connected to my body. Do you know what I
mean?"

We were able to walk three times around the corridor. The third one was a request of his. The
last stretch was on residual memory. It was great!

And if I understand what is going on it means that he is already creating
new healthy synapses that are overriding the damaged ones!

Unfortunately he is in worst shape than any
other MS patient I have seen. He hates to exercise and finds all kinds
of excuses to avoid it. Fortunately he enjoys using the googles."

Margarita Friedman-wife of MS and PD patient Brooklyn,NY

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"I have been using the Gait aid for about 2.5 weeks. When I get up in the mornings, I walk much better even before I take my medications. My shuffling gait is also getting better. I feel that I am beginning to walk with more confidence. My feet used to always bother me after walking. Now they do not bother me at all. I am hoping that my speed will increase. I use the Gait aid every day for 20 minutes. "

A couple months later...

"I try to use the GaitAid every day for 15 minutes, weather permitting. After using it, I can see a marked improvement in my gait. I move easier, and I think that I have more speed right after using it. While I am using it, the tremor in my right hand is worse but subsides later. I had my yearly physical with my neurologist, Dr. Ryan Uitti, at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL this past Wednesday. Basically, he saw no changes and did no additions to my medications. I consider it a great checkup. The previous 3 years have shown changes and called for medication changes. I have started Tai Chi for balance. I hope that using the GaitAid before class will help. I would love to hear from others using the GaitAid and compare results. I think my voice is better also."

Bill Pitner, Simons Island, GA