Pauline Miller was loosing her ability to walk, her ability to keep up her home, spend time with friends, and go for a simple walk with her grandchildren. At 63, she was supposed to be cherishing the legacy of family and life that she had worked so hard to nurture. Instead she lamented the independence she was losing. Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome was diminishing the strength in her legs and her ability to balance and walk.
“She was trapped inside a world of isolation, boredom and discouragement,” remembers her son, Jonathan Miller. “She wasn’t a pretentious woman at all. She was an upbeat person. Even though she had this disability, she never let it get her down. She never complained about it.”
Jonathan had a key role in his mother’s return to self-reliance. It is a story that goes much further beyond Pauline and Jonathan Miller, however. “I saw her losing her independence, and I started to think about how I might help her stay independent. I wanted her to be able to walk around, stay in her home, and take care of daily life,” said Jonathan. “I wanted to keep her out of a wheelchair.”
Jonathan’s efforts to keep his mother out of a wheelchair, have also translated into freedom and mobility for thousands of people living with Parkinson’s disease and other conditions that threaten independence. He designed a device to keep her stable and walking. It gave her the ability to walk around her home, and get around her community.
“It was important to me that she was up and walking as much as possible. People lose a lot of strength when they go into a wheelchair,” says Jonathan. “Our bodies are like a self winding watch. When we walk it helps us keep our digestive system, our cardiovascular system, our muscles and our bones strong. When you go into a wheelchair, you lose so much of that benefit. I keep people up and walking.”
Jonathan never envisioned the affect that the device he designed for his mother, would have on the Parkinson’s disease community. But when one of Dr. Abraham Lieberman’s patients, who had been immobile due to advanced PD, walked into his office one day aided only by a U-Step, Dr. Lieberman was amazed. He had never seen the U-Step; and he had never seen such a perfect walking aid for a person living with advanced PD. Dr. Lieberman immediately interrupted his whole staff, and called them in to look at it.
Now Dr. Lieberman is one of the U-Step’s biggest advocates. He is quoted as saying about the U-Step: “I recommend the U-Step. It is useful for patients with balance problems, because of its wide base.”
The U-Step seemed to be such a natural fit for people living with Parkinson’s. It kept them mobile and strong. However, it was not addressing the freezing issues that so frequently interrupt walking. Jonathan credits Dr. Paula Ravin of the University of Massachusetts for pressing for a solution for the freezing problem. “You know Jonathan, What can you do about the freezing?” she asked.
Together they experimented with the laser, which proved to be effective in most patients with Parkinson’s. The laser projects onto the floor so that a person can use it to focus on the image, and unfreeze.
Later on, Jane Wright, a social worker from the University of Pennsylvania, asked Jonathan to develop the laser cane. They found out that it was able to help a number of people who only needed a little bit of help with stability. Adding the laser, helped many patients to overcome freezing.
Indeed Instep is thrilled to have the U-Step endorsed by distinguished physicians such as Abraham Lieberman. Perhaps more profoundly gratifying was a phone call that Jonathan received a few weeks ago from a recent customer. “I’m leaving the nursing home!” the caller said. “Because I got your product, I can leave now. I have been a resident here for six months; but, as a result of getting your walker, I can go back home. Without your walker, I would not be able to go back home. I just called you to let you know how much your product helped me.”
These experiences are the family legacy that Jonathan carries on each day. The Instep Mobility team has served thousands of people that struggle to walk. Most of these walkers are for people living with Parkinson’s. If you would like to learn more about the U-Step,
click here. Jonathan and his team would be happy to provide you with more information, and answer any of your questions. Furthermore, the team can discuss Medicare and insurance information with you.
