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Walking tall
Innovative leg treatment helps high school athlete overcome disability
Despite a disability that causes walking difficulties, Christopher Kennedy plays football and baseball for the Harvey High School Hornets. Christopher recently began treatment at the Sanford Rehabilitation Center and is seeing improvements in his walking gait. |
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By the time he was a year old, Christopher
Kennedy’s parents knew he had a problem.
“When he started walking, we saw something
wasn’t right,” his mother, Kathy Kennedy, said.
“We thought maybe it was his hip.”
When her son walked, it was with the heel of his
right foot in the air and the toes turned in. A corrective
brace wasn’t working, but the family was told he
might outgrow it.
“But he didn’t,” Kathy said, remembering the
exercises designed to stretch the heel cord so the
ankle would bend. “He just kind of grew up walking
with his heel up and his toe down. He’d wear out
his right shoe.”
Because of his imbalance, Christopher would
often fall. “Before he was 3, he’d had stitches three
times because he’d fall a lot,” Kathy said. “But he
kind of learned how to walk so he wouldn’t fall.”
He was eventually diagnosed with monoplegia, a
mild form of cerebral palsy. In Christopher’s case,
according to physical therapist Michelle Vetter at
Sanford Health, he had difficulty activating the
muscle that pulls his foot up when taking a step
forward.
“This can lead to dragging of the toes or scraping
the front of the shoe along the floor when walking,”
Vetter said. “Over time, this can cause overuse
syndromes of muscle groups in the leg, as well as an
uneven joint wear, which can lead to pain and the
early onset of joint issues.”
Christopher, now 16 and a junior at Harvey High
School, didn’t let his disability prevent him from
competing in sports. He plays football and baseball
for the Hornets. |
“I’ve always wanted to play sports and try to be
as equal or as normal as everybody who doesn’t
have a disability,” said Christopher, the youngest of Kathy and Gary Kennedy’s seven children.
“If he really, really concentrated, he could walk normal,” Kathy said.
“But to him, it felt weird, like he was going to fall down.”
That’s all changed thanks to the physical therapy he’s received in Bismarck
and a donation from the Sanford Great American Bike Race (GABR).
It happened after his mother read a story about Sanford Health’s ActiveLeg
therapy in a recent edition of this magazine. It discussed the merits of the
Bioness L300, a system that applies electrical stimulation to the precise
points in applicable leg muscles to achieve a natural, consistent and smooth
walking pattern.
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“It sounded just like what Christopher has,” his mother said. “He read the
article and told me to call them.”
An appointment last September with Vetter resulted in a prescription for
the Bioness L300.
However, the cost of the equipment—which was not covered by the
family’s medical insurance—was too much for the family to handle
at the time.
“We knew it would be expensive, so we applied to the Sanford
GABR fund,” Kathy said.
The request was approved, and Christopher’s walking gait has already
improved.
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Michelle Vetter
Physical therapy
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Kathy said her son is now better able to stand tall and walk
a straight line. The L300 is worn below the knee with a sensor under the insole of
Christopher’s shoe. He has a remote similar to a pager that he carries
to turn it on and off.
Christopher calls the device “Nessy.”
“It’s a lot faster to say than Bioness L300 Foot Drop System,” he said.
He doesn’t wear it when playing sports because of the fear of damaging
it and the high cost to replace it.
Today, he looks forward to playing baseball in the spring at HHS and in
the summer with the American Legion program. Then, it’s his senior year
with hopes of advancing farther into the football playoffs.
“I am so thankful for everything they’ve done,” Christopher said of the
medical staff at Sanford Health and the help from GABR. “They’ve done
so much for me that I’m almost shocked in disbelief.”
Click here for more information on Sanford Health ActiveArm ActiveLeg program or call 701.323.6097.
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