USER STORIES

Chrystal

Chrystal is a vivacious and bubbly 20 year old with huge ambitions who is planning to go to University in September to study Counseling and Psychology. As a young child, Chrystal was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare genetically inherited neuromuscular condition.

As Chrystal’s condition has progressed it has resulted in a deterioration of her upper limb movement. This loss of function has resulted in Chrystal struggling to carry out some everyday activities associated with daily living.

On visiting the Naidex exhibition, Chrystal discovered the Armon Elemento, a dynamic arm support designed specifically to support the users arm and compensate for the loss of strenght. What makes this product unique is that the user can easily modify the amount of support their arm is given at any given time ensuring it is useable regardless of how they are feeling.

Chrystal’s local authority funded the purchase of the Elemento and to obtain this provision, Chrystal had to explain that it would enable her to independently eat, drink, brush her hair, put on makeup, work on a tablet and clean her teeth, all of which reduces the amount of care she requires.
Not only has Chrystal regained her dignity, she is able to use the Elemento for breakfast, lunch and dinner as the ability to change the level of support means regardless of how much strength in her upper limb, she is still able to use it with ease as the controls for the amount of support she requires can be managed with ease with the controls situated neatly on het lap.

Chrystal states: ‘The Armon Elemento allows me to do activities that other people take for granted and gives me my diginty back. No one can put a price on that!’

Bianca

I am one of the earliest users of the Armon. I’m using the arm support for over 10 years now and I can’t do a day without it.

I have the spinal muscular disease SMA 2 and my arms are so weak that I can hardly move them around, let alone lift them up. The Armon came as a lifesaver, I used up all the tricks, I couldn’t eat for myself anymore. But with the Armon I became a strong woman again! It made me independend again. I loved to go out with my friends, go see a movie, have a lunch or go out for dinner, but I stopped doing that, because I couldn’t eat indepently anymore. And I didn’t want my friends to help me. I definitely didn’t want to be fed like an animal.

But now I can go out and enjoy myself again. If someone offers me a cookie, I can accept. I can go out for a lovely dinner and I even don’t need to use a straw for the soup. I’m even fast enough now to eat ice cream before it melts. I’m so happy with my Armon. I can brush my teeth, blow my nose when I have a cold, put my glasses on and scratch my head when it itches. Before the Armon I needed help for all those things and now I’m independent again!

The most important thing is of course that I can eat and drink on my own again, but the Armon makes life better in so many ways. Just a simple thing like turning over the pages of a book, or putting a DVD in the player, or getting prints out of the printer. I have a little nephew now and I can feed him, instead of the other way around!

So the Armon really makes my life better. Don’t take away my Armon! I don’t want to be handicapped again.