By Mallory McGowin
Monday, November 09, 2009 at 5:05 p.m.
Read more: Local, Margaret Romph, FES Bike
It has been nearly a year since the car accident that left Margaret Romph paralyzed from the neck down. Margaret is now six-years-old and she continues to make strides in her recovery.
JEFFERSON CITY -- Monday, Margaret received a special piece of equipment that may help her walk again one day.
Christmas has come early for Margaret and the rest of the Romph family.
They tore into boxes Monday morning, unwrapping a gift they've been waiting on for months.
The $21,000 gift came from Santa, or rather the insurance company. It even came with its own elf, a physical therapist, to help put it together.
Its called a Functional Electrical Stimulation bike, or an FES bike.
Margaret used the bike when she was in rehab at the Kennedy Krieger Institute on Baltimore.
Here's how it works: electrodes send electrical pulses to the nerves in Margaret's arms and legs. The nerves then send a message to her muscles to move and pedal the bike.
The bike keeps Margaret moving, allowing her to build and strengthen her muscles which could one day help her arms and legs move on their own.
"There's a better chance of recovery from those who have access to the FES bike daily versus going to Kennedy and having access to it once or twice or three times a year," says Margaret's mother Sherline.
The bike isn't Margaret's favorite activity. It usually wears her out quickly.
"We usually tell her when she's crying is do you want to walk again? Yes. Do you want to write again? Yes. Do you want to do things for yourself again? Yes," says Sherline.
"Well if your answers are yes, then this is what we have to do."
Margaret will use the bike everyday, alternating between arm and leg exercises each day.
"We just keep telling her that she has to keep fighting. The fight's not over," says Sherline. "Its a long fight and its going to be a long journey. But hopefully, someday, she'll win that journey and win that battle."
Margaret's therapy bike is also hooked up to the Internet. Her parents and therapists can go online to check her progress. Just two weeks ago, Margaret received another special gift: her power wheelchair. She can even operate it herself; she uses her chin to press the go button.
Margaret's parents say she uses it well, zipping around the house and neighborhood.
