Paralyzing tragedy inspires Quebec campaign to help kids walk again
A Montreal hospital has become the first in Quebec to purchase a new piece of equipment that could help hundreds of children with spinal cord injuries learn to walk again.
Christina Commisso, CTVNews.ca
Published Wednesday, July 30, 2014 8:40AM EDT
Montreal teen Emmanuel Mavridakis didn't see a speeding car when he tried to cross a rural road with his ATV last summer. The then 13-year-old was struck by the car and flew 23 metres through the air – leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.
Desperate to do whatever they could to help him walk again, Emmanuel's parents set out on a $650,000 mission.
Today, the Mavridakis family is celebrating a successful fundraising campaign that brought a revolutionary piece of technology to a Quebec rehabilitation centre.
"When the accident happened, we were in a state of shock for quite a while," Emmanuel's father Dimitri Mavridakis told CTV Montreal. "I was saying to myself: 'This cannot be. Not in today's society. Not where technology is today.'"
The Mavridakis family learned of the Lokomat – a treadmill with robotic legs that supports people with damaged spinal cords or central nervous systems, and helps them to walk.
The therapeutic benefit is based on a concept called Neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to re-map itself following a traumatic experience.
"The connection has to be what you want," Dr. Marie Laberge said. "You have to say I'll walk and try to walk to bring the connection from the top down to the legs or the spinal cord."
To first try the Lokomat, Emmanuel's family drove six hours to Toronto. Today, the family has a much shorter commute.
The Mavridakis reached out to the Quebec business community to help with a fundraising campaign that eventually saw $650,000 raised through Fondation CHU Sainte‐Justine and Fondation Mélio.
The Marie Enfant Rehabilitation Centre at Sainte-Justine hospital announced on Tuesday that it is the first hospital in Quebec to buy the robotic walking device, which will provide therapy to about 500 children between the ages of four to 18 years-old.
Emmanuel said when he's using the Lokomat, it feels like he's walking.
His father is confident that his son will one day be able to walk without the use of the device.
"Our goal is to make Emmanuel walk again," Dimitri Mavridakis said. "He's going to play ball again."
Read more: Paralyzing tragedy inspires Quebec campaign to help kids walk again | CTV News
A Montreal hospital has become the first in Quebec to purchase a new piece of equipment that could help hundreds of children with spinal cord injuries learn to walk again.
Christina Commisso, CTVNews.ca
Published Wednesday, July 30, 2014 8:40AM EDT
Montreal teen Emmanuel Mavridakis didn't see a speeding car when he tried to cross a rural road with his ATV last summer. The then 13-year-old was struck by the car and flew 23 metres through the air – leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.
Desperate to do whatever they could to help him walk again, Emmanuel's parents set out on a $650,000 mission.
Today, the Mavridakis family is celebrating a successful fundraising campaign that brought a revolutionary piece of technology to a Quebec rehabilitation centre.
"When the accident happened, we were in a state of shock for quite a while," Emmanuel's father Dimitri Mavridakis told CTV Montreal. "I was saying to myself: 'This cannot be. Not in today's society. Not where technology is today.'"
The Mavridakis family learned of the Lokomat – a treadmill with robotic legs that supports people with damaged spinal cords or central nervous systems, and helps them to walk.
The therapeutic benefit is based on a concept called Neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to re-map itself following a traumatic experience.
"The connection has to be what you want," Dr. Marie Laberge said. "You have to say I'll walk and try to walk to bring the connection from the top down to the legs or the spinal cord."
To first try the Lokomat, Emmanuel's family drove six hours to Toronto. Today, the family has a much shorter commute.
The Mavridakis reached out to the Quebec business community to help with a fundraising campaign that eventually saw $650,000 raised through Fondation CHU Sainte‐Justine and Fondation Mélio.
The Marie Enfant Rehabilitation Centre at Sainte-Justine hospital announced on Tuesday that it is the first hospital in Quebec to buy the robotic walking device, which will provide therapy to about 500 children between the ages of four to 18 years-old.
Emmanuel said when he's using the Lokomat, it feels like he's walking.
His father is confident that his son will one day be able to walk without the use of the device.
"Our goal is to make Emmanuel walk again," Dimitri Mavridakis said. "He's going to play ball again."
Read more: Paralyzing tragedy inspires Quebec campaign to help kids walk again | CTV News