Caregiver Marcie Gutman
My daughter, Ilana, age 18, has Cerebral Palsy. She got the Up n’ Go a little over a year ago when she was 17. Before she starting using the Up n’ Go, she could take only two steps, with the support of two people. She basically was wheelchair bound. After using the Up n’ Go for only 3 months, she could walk a quarter of a mile, standing and propelling the unit by herself. This unit is amazing!
Ilana loves the Up n’ Go, and uses it daily for a variety of things, including walking for cardio exercise, therapy for weight bearing, stretching and standing, balance, and her own independence. She is in camp with other children, and she uses it to play basketball and tennis at their height, instead of from a sitting position in a wheelchair. Last week she stood for 47 minutes playing catch with a ball. This equates to 5 minutes and 20 seconds of standing independently!
Before getting the Up n’ Go, I researched and bought every gait trainer and mobility device on the market, including Rifton, Lite Gait, Hart Walker, Pony and Kaye. I probably have 30 or 40 thousand dollars worth of equipment in my spare room, which anyone interested, is welcome to. The difference between them and the Up n’ Go is that engineers of the other devices have not given thought to the practicality of use. For instance, what does it take to get the user into the device? Can you travel with the device? With the Up n’ Go, the engineer has developed a very practical piece of equipment that is easy to get into, and wraps up to fit into the back of your car. There is no excuse not to use it as much as possible! Not to mention, that the device is dynamically correct for teaching and mimics walking, leaving the user’s hands free!
Sincerely,
Marcie Gutman
The adult standard unit fits into a minivan and the adult portable unit fits into the trunk of most cars