Miracle Device Gives Southington MS Victim Better Mobility

SOUTHINGTON, CT — In 2018, current Southington resident Jessica Morea was living in Waterbury as a healthy active woman in her early 50s.

Then a devestating diagonosis changed her life forever, one that has since benefitted from a miraculous piece of medical technology she said has improved how she goes about her daily rituals.

One morning five years ago, she woke up with her hand completely numb, in her words, "almost as if I had slept on it the wrong way."

But Morea knew that wasn't what was wrong and a quick visit to the doctor and subsequent tests revealed a frightening diagnosis — primary progressive multiple schlerosis.

The disease is a nerve disease that ultimately robs those diagnosed with the proper use of their limbs, resulting in severe mobility issues.

Immediatelly after her diagnosis, her MS condition started rearing its very ugly head.

"I noticed that once I was diagnosed with PPMS, mobility challenges came on quickly starting in the fall of 2018. I struggled with my mobility and I had trouble getting around because my leg would buckle – especially my left side since it is definitely worse than the right side," she said.
"I also found myself struggling to get up and down the stairs in my house, so we set up a stair lift, as well as a ramp so I can get outside with my wheelchair."

Inside her home, she's was fearful of falling and was able to get out of her house only if she used an electric wheelchair. She stopped driving. Despite being in her early 50s, she needed a walker.

Physical therapy, Morea said, helped. But insurance issues forced her to stop because it was too expensive.

The came the life changer, the Bioness L300 Go.

While it sounds like something a quarterback would call in the huddle during a football game, the L 3000 Go is a miraculous, high-tech device that has brought Morea more freedom and mobility in her life.

Morea said she first learned about the device while attending physical therapy at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford.

It looks like a simple athletic wrap, but inside is an electrical stimulation component that positively impacts her nervous system and, resultingly, allows her to walk better on her own, with better balance.

It wraps around her leg.

"It worked as soon as I tried it and it helped me walk. I got my first device in 2021," Morea said.

Then disaster struck that same year.

Her condominum was destroyed in a massive fire that took out four units in Waterbury. She and her husband had lost everything.

Eventually, the couple relocated to Southington, where they currently live, but her electronic stimulation device was destroyed.

By 2023, she had received a new device for no charge and, Morea says, she's grateful such technology exists where prior MS patients would be resigned to years of immobility.

Morea said people who are diagnosed with MS should not give up and, if possible, take advantage of anything available to make their lives better.

She especially credited Bioness customer service for helping her along the process.

"Multiple sclerosis is a life-altering disease. I would recommend that anyone diagnosed with the disease surround themselves with people who support them because they’re going to need all the support and help they can get to live with and learn to manage their condition," Morea said.

Morea's physical therapist, Sue Goldstein, of Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, agreed.

"This device enabled Jessica to walk safely with her rollator. She had decreased leg fatigue and demonstrated no foot/toe drag, enabling good clearance of her involved leg for a more efficient gait pattern," Goldstein said.

"Overall, use of the Bioness L300 Go gave her improved balance and gait stability for decreased risk of falls and it decreased the muscle atrophy of her ankle musculature."

These days, Morea has some lofty goals thanks to her recent technological miracle.

She wants to get rid of her electric wheelchair in favor of a mobility scooter, as the fear of falling is lessoned and she is able to park and walk while out and about.

Morea also has one more simple goal, one that would have been unfathomable five years ago.

" I’m also looking forward to getting out of my house more," she said.

For more information on the Bioness L300 Go system, click on this link.