http://www.brantnews.com/life.cfm?page= ... leId=10532
t has been 10 months since Angela Lavallee underwent liberation treatment for progressive multiple sclerosis.
Since then, the St. George resident has made new strides with every passing season.
Last summer, Lavallee canoed with her husband, Phil, and treaded water in the pool. During the winter, she walked in knee-deep snow. A few weeks ago, she wore high heels. Last week, she danced to an entire song for the first time in five years.
“Every season that has come around, there were a million things that I did that I couldn’t do,” she said. “I am still walking proof that this procedure changed my life.”
Within 29 hours of having the treatment, she could lift her right leg without assistance and the neuro-fatigue that plagued her greatly diminished. Today, Lavallee continues to walk on her own but has noticed “flutters” of symptoms returning, such as some fatigue, imbalance and less strength in her right leg.
In November 2010, Hunt travelled to Frankfurt, Germany, where she was diagnosed with 80 per cent blockage of a vein in the left side of her neck.
Since undergoing an angioplasty to clear the vein, leg spasms that woke her every night have disappeared and her legs are no longer so stiff that they are difficult to bend.
“These are huge things for me in terms of quality of life,” she said. “Now, I am able to get myself out of bed because my legs bend more easily.
The entire procedure was only 30 minutes long and I was already wiggling my toes in recovery, which is something I couldn’t do for a long time."
“MS is a disease that does not offer a lot of hope. Nothing else has given me these improvements. Seven months in, the improvements are still there.”