My name is Cassy Ische. Multiple Sclerosis has tried to take over my life. I have been given the opportunity to walk again with the assistance of the Brainport Device. With your help my dreams will come true. I would give anything to walk with my children and husband, maybe even run and play.

I am a 40 year old wife and mother of 2 amazing young children, grand-daughter, daughter, sister, niece, aunt, friend and former teacher diagnosed with MS just a few days after my 31st Birthday. It was March 2004 when my life was turned upside down. I was a very active wife, 4th/5th grade Math Teacher, Tutor, and Semi-Pro Dancer/Cheerleader. After 13 relapses in my first 6 years of the disease I made the decision to go to Germany for Live Organo Cell Treatment (http://www.janson-mueller.de/en/home/).

This was the greatest decision for me and my qualilty of life. Since going My MRI's show no change. However in Fall 2010, I became very sick. The doctors couldn't figure out my infection, my WBC was 28,000. This took away my ability to walk, unassisted. I use a device called the Bioness L300 on my left leg for foot drop, a walker for short distances, a motorized scooter (outside) and a power chair (inside) at all other times.

Which brings me to the Brainport Device. I've been on the waiting list since Fall 2010. I tried getting into the University of Wisconsin Study called The Wisconsin Project (Montel William's Story, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QqSxFqBnMA) and the University of Nebraska Study called Train The Brain (Kurt Shafer's story, https://nufoundation.org/-/article-ms-patients-success-leads-to-train-the-brain-fund), without success.

Its aim is to restore functions lost to multiple sclerosis by improving the brain’s ability to reorganize its activity and allow the patient to regain muscle control.

The treatment involves sending electrical stimulation to the patient’s brain through an electrode-covered oral device called a PoNS, which is held on the tongue, and a set of customized physical and occupational therapy exercises.

University of Wisconsin engineer and scientist Kurt Kaczmarek, PH.D., who conducts the project with biomedical engineer Mitchell Tyler and neuroscientist Dr. Yuri Danilov, said the research deals with the concept of neuroplasticity, the idea that the brain can reorganize its functions in response to learning or experience. The UW project was started in 1983 by the late Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita, who had been conducting studies of sensory substitution since the 1960s to determine whether the brain, deprived of one sense, could learn to use other senses to compensate for or replace the lost sense.

The PoNS device provides a customized electrical stimulus to the tongue. The stimulus is optimized to maximize the brain’s ability to recover function lost to injury or disease when combined with the special exercises. Kaczmarek said the optimal time for using the stimulation training is “a couple of times a day for 20 to 35 minutes at a time.

“We discovered early on,” he said, “that if someone uses the system for a few minutes, they will have a pretty good remedial time of reduction of symptoms. Longer use results in longer beneficial effect. It is likely that some users may progress to near-normal function after weeks, months, or years of dedicated PoNS device use in conjunction with the exercises, but this prediction is extrapolated from our earlier research.”

The email I received a few weeks ago from LifeMark in Vancouver, Canada can possibly change my life. I am at the top of the waiting list! Here it is:

Thank you for completing the application.  Abeed has reviewed the brainport application and all looks good to proceed with the training should your choose.
 
For the brainport training, client will need to come in for 3 consecutive days of sessions (Mon/Tue/Wed only).  Each session is 1 hr long and 2 sessions per day.  It is recommended that we have at least 4 hrs in between sessions as it is very fatiguing training with the device.
 
The schedule for the brainport training times are, 
-Monday 8-9am and 1-2pm

-Tuesday 8-9am and 1-2pm

-Wednesday 8-9am and 1-2pm         

the training fees are,

-Training:  2x 1hr sessions over 3 consecutive days  -> 6x$150/hr=$900 CDN
 
-Brainport Device:  $2500 CDN + Tax for damage deposit
-After 30 days, if you keep the device, we will charge another $2500 CDN + Tax

-Hotel, airfare, food, and transportation approx $2500

Any money raised above and beyond will be used stictly for all medical purposes.

I thank you all in advance for any and all support you can give. I believe in this and I believe I will walk again!

XO, Cassy