He owned an HVAC business and had a passion for woodworking. Losing the use of his right arm following a stroke was devastating, but MyoPro has renewed his confidence.
Dave was a fixer, first with a direct support maintenance group in the Maryland Army National Guard and then as the hands-on owner of a thriving HVAC company. A father of five, his children and grandchildren kept him busy with baseball games, soccer and dance.
Life as Dave knew it suddenly changed on January 30, 2011. A stroke left him without movement on his right side – not to mention fear and uncertainty. “I was crawling under houses earlier that day,” he says. “Then somebody turns the switch off and says, ‘you’re not going to do that anymore.’”
At 61 years old, he had to give up his business. The tools in his wood shop collected dust. All he could do was focus on rehab, which he pursued with the help of the Baltimore VA hospital and the University of Maryland. After six years of struggle and roadblocks, an occupational therapist suggested that he try MyoPro. It made an immediate difference – physically and mentally.
“Since I got MyoPro, my life has really gained some more direction,” says Dave, now 67. “Before MyoPro, my arm was just there. Now I can get it to do the things I want it to do. I’m able to load and unload the dishwasher, move clothes around. It’s given me a lot of confidence.”
His days as a hands-on technician troubleshooting home heating and air conditioning units may be behind him, but thanks to MyoPro Dave’s able to practice his passion of woodworking again. In fact, Dave’s latest endeavor is making walking canes that can be useful for people like him, who have limited use of a limb. He made 20 canes in the first four months after he began using MyoPro.
Dave knows that making small strides will go a long way in his rehab. MyoPro is helping to make those strides even more meaningful. “If anybody says you can’t get something back that you lost years ago, that’s not a true statement. You can get it back, but you have to work at it.”