FREDERICK, Md. — It can be a tough day when people are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which often impacts their mobility. Danielle Brown, however, discovered a tool she calls "game-changing."
Brown has lived with MS for 19 years, having been officially diagnosed when she was 34. She said her first symptoms popped up back in 1996.
Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disorder that can affect mobility, cognitive skills, and more. She said it didn't really impact her day-to-day life until recently.
“I would say in the past two to three years, things started changing," Brown said. "And I wasn't going back to my normal self. So I couldn't do as much as I used to do.”
So, she connected with a physical therapist and private Pilates instructor to improve her strength and agility.
It was when she discovered the Bioness L300 Go that her quality of life really started to change.
“The device, it was like night and day,” her Pilates instructor, Tanya Rockovich said. She owns The TONED Studio in Frederick, Maryland.
Brown straps one to her thigh and another right under her knee and controls it using an app on her phone.
“So when there's a lot of fatigue or a lot of weakness in a muscle, you can't lift it up. And so essentially, the limb feels very heavy, and you're not able to bring it through like when walking so you could trip. It's a fall risk," her physical therapist, Monica Armagost said. "So the electrical stimulation that's provided by the Bioness helps to bend the knee and then lift the toes up.”
"All you have to do is press this button right here," Brown said, showing off her phone, "and it will give you a little stimulation, so my foot is moving on its own."
Sure enough, it lifted off the ground and stayed there and she told the app to put it down.
“I think the Bioness just really gave me a sense of freedom that I didn't have before," she said.
Now, she's able to walk for twice as long, even taking a trip to London with her husband and daughter recently.
“She doesn't want to be defined by this, so she really is motivated and works super hard," Rockovich said, tearing up. "She really inspires me to be not only a better Pilates trainer but really just like a better person in general."
Brown said the most important thing is to keep moving and advocate for yourself.
“I want to be strong and keep living my life and you know, keep going," she said. "I'm not gonna let MS stop me."