WELCOME TO "WEDU QUEST."

I'M DR. SHANNON McQUAIG.

PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEVERE SPINAL

INJURIES HAVE MANY CHALLENGES.

WE MET UP WITH ONE

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, WOMAN

WHO SURVIVED A SERIOUS

ACCIDENT THAT LEFT HER A

QUADRIPLEGIC, BUT HER INJURIES

DID NOT KEEP HER DOWN.

THIS IS HER QUEST TO GAIN

MOBILITY THROUGH

NEUROTECHNOLOGY.

I GREW UP IN NORTHEASTERN

OHIO, JUST AN AVERAGE SUBURBAN

KID, IF YOU WILL.

MY DAD ALWAYS HAD A LOVE FOR

THE PARK SYSTEMS, SO WE WERE

INVOLVED WITH A LOT OF OUTDOOR

ACTIVITIES, THINGS LIKE

CANOEING AND KAYAKING AND

CAMPING.

JENNIFER FRENCH LOVES THE

OUTDOORS AND RELATED SPORTS,

INCLUDING SNOWBOARDING.

IN HER EARLY 20s, SHE WENT ON

A WEEKEND SKI TRIP IN THE

MOUNTAINS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.

THERE WERE ABOUT TWO DOZEN

OF US THAT HAD RENTED A HOUSE

THAT WAS SLOPE SIDE AND

PLANNED ON SNOWBOARDING ALL

DAY AND ALL WEEKEND.

ON FRIDAY THE 13th, UNDER A

FULL MOON, WE WANTED TO DO THE

MIDNIGHT RUN.

IF YOU'VE EVER SKIED AT NIGHT

UNDER A FULL MOON, THE TRAILS

JUST GLOW.

SO IT'S ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.

ABOUT A DOZEN OF US SLAPPED ON

OUR SNOWBOARDS AND OUR SKIS

AND WE WENT DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.

11 MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM.

I DID NOT.

ALONG THE WAY, I HIT A PATCH

OF ICE, WENT DOWN A 40-FOOT

EMBANKMENT, HIT A BUNCH OF

TREES, AND CAME OUT AS A

QUADRIPLEGIC.

JEN'S LIFE WAS CHANGED

FOREVER.

UNDERSTANDING AND DEALING

WITH A TRAUMATIC INJURY, SUCH

AS A SPINAL CORD INJURY, THE

LIFE THAT YOU KNEW BEFORE IS

OVER.

IT BASICALLY STOPS.

AND ONCE YOU GET OUT OF THE

HOSPITAL, YOU HAVE TO TRY TO

PICK UP YOUR PIECES AGAIN,

WHICH IS REALLY DIFFICULT TO

DO.

SHE TURNED TO

NEUROTECHNOLOGY TO FIND WAYS

TO REGAIN SOME MOBILITY.

I WAS DOING SOME BACKGROUND

RESEARCH THAT HAS BEEN GOING

ON FOR ELECTRICAL STIMULATION,

AND THAT'S WHERE I FELL UPON

THE CLEVELAND FES CENTER.

THE FES, OR FUNCTIONAL

ELECTRICAL STIMULATION CENTER,

IN CLEVELAND, OHIO, WAS IN THE

PROCESS OF DOING CLINICAL

TRIALS ON THE STAND AND

TRANSFER SYSTEM.

THE FUNCTIONAL ELECTRICAL

STIMULATION IS USED TO TREAT

PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD AN INJURY,

SUCH AS A SPINAL CORD INJURY,

A STROKE, PARKINSON'S DISEASE,

EPILEPSY.

DR. KIRSCH WORKED WITH JEN

FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WHEN

SHE FIRST CAME TO THE FES

CENTER IN 1999.

AFTER A THOROUGH

EVALUATION, JEN WAS

CONSIDERED A GOOD CANDIDATE TO

HAVE THE ELECTRODES IMPLANTED.

MY FIRST SURGERY WAS 7½

HOURS TO HAVE THE FULL SYSTEM

IMPLANTED.

DURING THE SURGERY, THE

MUSCLES ARE FIRST PROBED WITH

AN ELECTRICAL STIMULATOR, A

SURGICAL STIMULATOR TO MAKE

SURE THAT THEY WILL CONTRACT.

THEN THE ELECTRODES ARE

PLACED, AND THEN THOSE ARE,

AGAIN, STIMULATED THROUGH TO

MAKE SURE THAT THE MUSCLES

WILL CONTRACT WHEN STIMULATED.

AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF

HEALING, JEN BEGAN TO TRAIN TO

STAND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN

TWO YEARS.

ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS YOU

NEVER FORGET, THAT'S FOR SURE,

FOR MY FIRST STAND.

IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT, AND

BEING ABLE TO DO IT

INDEPENDENTLY WAS EVEN MORE

IMPORTANT.

THE SYSTEM.

YOU CAN'T JUST TURN ON THE

SYSTEM AND SUDDENLY GET THIS

MUSCLES.

YOU NEED TO USE THE SYSTEM TO

BUILD UP THAT MUSCLE TISSUE TO

BE ABLE TO GET THAT

PERFORMANCE.

IT'S THE CLASSIC "IF YOU DON'T

USE IT, YOU'LL LOSE IT."

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF

SECONDARY BENEFITS THAT HAVE

TO DO WITH INCREASED

MUSCLE STRENGTH,

IMPROVED CIRCULATION,

INCREASED MUSCLE MASS.

THE NICE THING ABOUT THIS

TYPE OF NEUROPROSTHETIC IS

THAT THE RESEARCHERS WORK WITH

YOU TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT

MUSCLES TO IMPLANT AND WHAT

YOUR OPTIONS ARE IN TERMS OF

WHAT FUNCTIONAL USE YOU'LL BE

ABLE TO GET OUT OF IT.

TODAY, JEN HAS THE FREEDOM

TO BE ABLE TO DO SOME KEY

TASKS WITHOUT NEEDING BULKY

BRACES AND EXTERNAL DEVICES.

I'M ABLE TO USE IT FOR THE

MUNDANE TASKS OF FOLDING

LAUNDRY AND REACHING THINGS

OUT OF HIGHER PLACES THAT YOU

NORMALLY WOULDN'T, BUT YOU

ALSO GET TO USE IT OUTSIDE THE

HOME.

YOU CAN PLAY FOOSBALL WITH

YOUR FRIENDS.

I CAN STAND UP AT A 7th INNING

STRETCH AT A BASEBALL GAME

WITH EVERYONE ELSE.

I CAN PARTAKE ON A STANDING

OVATION JUST AS WE DO

SOCIALLY.

ONE OF MY MOST BELOVED MOMENTS

OF USING THIS SYSTEM WAS BEING

ABLE TO WALK DOWN THE AISLE AT

MY WEDDING AND STAND FOR THE

ENTIRE CEREMONY, SO I LEFT THE

WHEELCHAIR BEHIND.

SHE RESUMED HER OUTDOOR

ACTIVITIES AND PURSUED HER

PASSION FOR SAILING.

SHE BUILT UP HER STRENGTH AND

DECIDED TO CAMPAIGN FOR THE

PARALYMPICS.

ONCE YOU MAKE A CAMPAIGN

FOR THE PARALYMPICS JUST AS

OLYMPIANS DO, IT TAKES OVER

YOUR LIFE, AND YOU REALLY HAVE

TO DO A LOT OF TRAINING TO

BUILD UP TO BE AT THAT HIGH

LEVEL.

WE GOT THE GOLDEN TICKET TO

LONDON TO REPRESENT TEAM USA

IN 2012, AND WE WENT THERE AND

WERE ABLE TO BRING HOME A

SILVER MEDAL FOR THE U.S.

JEN'S PASSION FOR LIFE

INCLUDES HELPING OTHERS WHO

CAN BENEFIT FROM

NEUROTECHNOLOGY.

SHE HELPED ESTABLISH THE

NEUROTECH NETWORK.

WE'RE A NONPROFIT THAT

FOCUSES ON EDUCATION AND

ADVOCACY TO ACCESS

NEUROTECHNOLOGY DEVICES FOR

PEOPLE WITH VARIOUS TYPES OF

NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS.

JEN SPEAKS REGULARLY ON

BEHALF OF NEUROTECHNOLOGY AND

ITS DEVELOPMENT.

AT THIS SPECIAL EVENT AT THE

DALI MUSEUM IN ST. PETERSBURG,

SHE TEAMED UP WITH SCIENTISTS

TO SHARE HER STORY.

SO I PRESS A BUTTON.

THREE SECONDS LATER, THE

SYSTEM ACTIVATES.

IT WILL TURN THE ELECTRODES

ON, AND YOU GO AHEAD, AND I'M

STANDING UP.

SO NOW I'M STANDING ON THE

POWER OF MY OWN MUSCLES.

SO I'LL BE ABLE TO MOVE IN

SHORT DISTANCES, TO BE ABLE TO

DO TRANSFERS THAT ARE TOO

DIFFICULT, TO GO THROUGH

DOORWAYS THAT ARE WAY TOO

NARROW FOR THE WHEELCHAIR,

AND, YES, THEY DO EXIST.

SO TO BE ABLE TO SIT, YOU DO

THE SAME THING.

YOU JUST TURN OFF THE SYSTEM.

AGAIN, THE ELECTRODES WILL

TURN OFF, AND I'M BACK IN MY

WHEELCHAIR AND MY MUSCLES ARE

PARALYZED AGAIN.

HER ORGANIZATION SUPPORTS

RESEARCH AND ACCESS AND

ADVOCATES FOR DEVICE APPROVALS

BY THE FDA.

AND THE FDA HAS A WHOLE

AREA CALLED THE ORPHAN

POPULATION IN TERMS OF

APPROVING DEVICES.

AND THOSE ARE FOR CONDITIONS

THAT HAVE SMALL POPULATIONS,

NOT THE LARGE POPULATIONS LIKE

DEPRESSION OR AGING OR GRAYING

OF HAIR.

WHAT WE TRY TO LOOK FOR IS

THESE TYPES OF DEVICES THAT

HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND HOW WE

CAN BLEED THEM OVER INTO

DIFFERENT CONDITIONS.

FROM ACCIDENT VICTIM TO

LEADING ADVOCATE, JENNIFER

FRENCH HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMEONE

WITH AN UNTAMED SPIRIT.

SO JEN FRENCH IS A SPECIAL

WOMAN.

SHE HAS BEEN ONE OF THE

PIONEERS IN OUR LOWER

EXTREMITY FES SYSTEM FOR THE

STANDING AND TRANSFER.

SHE'S KIND OF IRREPRESSIBLE IN

HER ENTHUSIASM AND OPTIMISM.

FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE FACING

NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS OR A

NEW STEP IN THEIR LIFE OF

HAVING TO DEAL WITH A

DEGENERATIVE DISEASE, IF YOU

WILL, THEY NEED TO BECOME

THEIR OWN ADVOCATES AND BE

ABLE TO LOOK FOR THOSE TYPES

OF OPTIONS.

♪

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE

CLEVELAND FES CENTER, VISIT

fescenter.org.