Mobility Equipment Archives

Checking in with marathon MS runner Cheryl Hile

Posted on September 10, 2024September 8, 2024

Cheryl Hile with other runners at RAMMS Mini-Event

Cheryl Hile is hard to catch up with. Hile is a marathon runner. When I first interviewed her, nearly eight years ago, she had just finished running a marathon in Cape Town, South Africa. It was the first race in her goal to run a marathon on each of the seven continents in the following 12 months. Goal accomplished! Hile followed that race with marathons in Buenos Aires, Honolulu, Antarctica,…Continue Reading

Is it time to get a mobility scooter?

Posted on June 24, 2024June 21, 2024

“When is the right time to get a mobility scooter?” It’s a question I often see as I browse social media sites frequented by people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Sometimes the person is asking about a cane, a walker, or a foot brace, but the concerns are the same: will it really help me, is it going to make me look too disabled and, sometimes, can I afford it? My…Continue Reading

A busted scooter leaves me in the lurch

Posted on October 16, 2023October 15, 2023

My mobility scooter quit on me the other day. I can walk 100 feet or so using a pair of canes, but my wheels are usually my legs. So when I turned the key and discovered those “legs” were powerless, I was stuck. This breakdown couldn’t have happened at a worse time. My wife, Laura, had been prepping for a medical procedure, the one where the prep is worse than…Continue Reading

Caverns, grandkids, my scooter and me. Does trouble lurk?

Posted on August 28, 2023August 27, 2023

My wife, Laura, thought it would be fun to take our grandkids, ages 7 and 9, to spend a few hours exploring a giant cave. I wasn’t so sure. Ten minutes into the excursion, I was wondering which one of the adults would be hauled out in an ambulance. Luray Caverns in Virginia bills itself as the largest caverns in the eastern United States. The pictures of stalactites and stalagmites…Continue Reading

Attention Bioness L300 Users

Posted on January 25, 2023January 25, 2023

A reader of my blog who lives in Belgium needs a replacement shoe sensor for his Bioness L300 functional electrical stimulator. The problem is, when Bioness upgraded the L300 to the L300 Go several years ago it stopped supporting the original FES. Apparently the sensor, which isn’t required for the L300 Go but is essential for the L300, is no longer available. Is there a sensor, lying unused, in somebody’s…Continue Reading

A Busted Cane Sends Me Searching for Something New

Posted on May 30, 2022May 28, 2022

My cane mutinied. I’ve been using canes for about 20 years — first one, and then a pair. I’m tough on them and put a lot of weight on them. I take them out in the heat, cold, and rain. I force them to rest on the scorching cement when I go for a swim. It’s not easy being one of my canes, so it’s no wonder that, a few…Continue Reading

Do I Walk Better With the Bioness L300 Go?

Posted on August 24, 2020August 23, 2020

I’ve used a Bioness L300 Functional Electronic Stimulator for almost 8 years to help me walk. Has the benefit been worth the cost?

Going with the L300 Go Functional Electrical Stimulator

Posted on December 9, 2019December 7, 2019

I’ve used the Bioness L300, a functional electrical stimulator (FES) device, for about seven years to counter my left foot drop. It’s strapped to my leg just below the knee and, as I began to take a step, it sends a low-intensity electrical pulse down a nerve that triggers my foot to flex upward, so my toes don’t drag. The L300 has worked well for several years. But, as my…Continue Reading

An Uh-oh Moment on My Scooter

Posted on December 2, 2019December 2, 2019

It happened on the coldest day of the season. The wind-chill temperature was 16 degrees F. I was outside, using my electric scooter to take Joey, our cocker spaniel, for his early morning walk. Joey had just finished his business and I was tying the poopie bag when I heard beeping — a string of five beeps — over and over. I checked my iPhone, but it wasn’t the source…Continue Reading

Making a Solid Case for Using a Mobility Aid

Posted on July 1, 2019July 1, 2019

I’ve used an electric scooter for nearly 20 years. At first, I only used it when I knew I’d be walking a lot. Now, it’s every day. I used a cane for several years before the scooter. I resisted using both, however, and I’ll bet that many of you who are reading this are putting up your own stiff fight right now. I’ve tried to sell the benefits of mobility…Continue Reading

"People newly diagnosed with MS will truly benefit from this book, while those of us who’ve lived with MS for a while will wish we’d had it ourselves!…Neurologists should consider keeping a copy of this book in their waiting room because their patients are going to need it." - Tamara K. Sellman, reviewing for Multiple Sclerosis.net.

The Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox is designed for MS "newbies" but it's great info for everyone. I combine more than 40 years of living with MS with some easy to understand info about diagnosis, treatments, visiting the neuro, relationships, mobility aids, travel and more…a lot of what you get in this blog. A paperback and an e-book are available on Amazon.