[November 24, 2008]

Splint helps Waterloo woman regain movement lost in stroke

WATERLOO, Nov 24, 2008 (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

At age 9, Shelley Kennedy suffered a stroke due to a rare muscular disease.
Although her parents and doctors worried that the youngster might not walk or talk again, Kennedy, now 31, never doubted her ability to make a complete recovery.

Within two months, in time for her first day of fourth grade, Kennedy had ditched her wheelchair and was able to communicate with friends and family. Despite her hard work, the Waterloo woman was unable to regain use of her right hand -- until last month.

On the suggestion of her physician, Kennedy started strengthening exercises using an electrode-laden splint. The device, manufactured by Bioness, provides electrical stimulation to the muscles that open and close the hand. After 22 years of nonuse, Kennedy now can use the appendage to hold a fork, catch a ball and put together puzzles with her 3-year-old daughter, Taylor.

"It's just amazing to me what I can do now," said Kennedy, who has been diagnosed with fibromuscular dysplasia. "Getting back any bit of movement is so exciting. I've never had a treatment that compares to this."

Kennedy visits Covenant Medical Center three times a week to work with the device. She recently received her own splint, allowing her to augment the therapy with at-home exercises.

"To be most effective, Shelley should be working with this every day," said Sue Hoey, Covenant's lead occupational therapist. "It's as much about retraining the brain as it is retraining the muscles."

During a therapy session last week, Kennedy performed basic tasks, including picking up spice containers and bouncing a tennis ball. She completed some of the activities with the splint on, and others without the aid of the device. Kennedy, an associate at Blessed Sacrament Elementary School in Waterloo, said the exercises have helped her tackle fine-motor tasks at work and at home.

Kennedy's friends and family are watching her progress excitedly, said her mother, Sue Kennedy.
"When this first happened, she tried so hard to move her fingers but she couldn't," said the Farley woman. "So to see (Shelley) actually using her hand is unbelievable."

There is no cure for Kennedy's condition, and she remains at risk for another stroke. According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, fibromuscular dysplasia causes abnormal clusters of cells to grow on artery walls. Complications include high blood pressure, chronic kidney failure, arterial tears, aneurysms and stroke.

But when appraising her health, Kennedy prefers to focus on the positive.
"There's a chance I'll have another stroke," she said. "You just have to live life and not focus on what could be.

"Right now, I'm just happy to be getting my hand back."
Contact Mary Stegmeir at (319) 291-1482 or mary.stegmeir@wcfcourier.com.
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Discussions:


	Shelley, so glad to hear of the progress for you! Fibromuscular Dysplasia can be a bear of a disease, but with proper montitoring etc., there is no reason to believe you can't have a full and happy life! So glad you were diagnosed, that is half the battle! Yours in FMD, Mimi In Northern Cal

By Mimi

11/24/2008 5:34:19 PM

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