Life-changing leg braces
At the age of 62, Gordon Jackman finally knows what it feels like to walk freely.
Jackman, who was diagnosed with polio before his first birthday, has become the first New Zealander to be fitted with carbonfibre orthotic leg braces, developed by a pioneering United States orthotic specialist.
But with no Government funding available for the expensive and life-changing technology, the Wellingtonian fears many other Kiwis might not be so lucky.
‘‘At age 62, having had polio all that time, I never imagined in my life I would feel these things and experience these things,’’ he said.
‘‘So it’s sort of like getting wings and a motor.’’
Although polio has been eradicated in most countries, and all countries in the Western Pacific region, there are about 6000 New Zealanders who still have the incurable disease, which affects the bowel and causes meningitis or paralysis.
Jackman is one of those people and had lived with paralysis and severe pain in his legs most of his life. ‘‘I got polio when I was 10 months old, so that’s at the crawling stage,’’ he said.
‘‘So I’ve only ever walked in one way – with a limp.’’
That changed when he travelled to San Diego in the US to receive the new braces in November.
The braces, which are made with similar technology to that used to manufacture prosthetic limbs such as those worn by New Zealand Paralympic gold medallist Liam Malone, work by realigning leg and foot bones to their correct position. As well as making walking a lot easier, Jackman’s crippling pain has all but ceased.
But at a cost of $35,000, the braces are not cheap. Jackman believes they should be funded by the health system, saying the cost would be far less than that incurred by injuries from falls, amputations and expensive surgeries like hip and knee replacements. ‘‘In the long run, it’s probably the best investment I’ve ever made in myself. But at the moment that’s not within the reach of many many New Zealanders.’’
He described the change in his daily life as extraordinary, with his improved posture even improving his singing. ‘‘When I stand, I’m totally balanced and I can be utterly relaxed, which I’ve never been in my life.’’
Jackman set up the Duncan Foundation, an offshoot of the Duncan Charitable Trust, in November. It helped bring the clinician behind the technology, Marmaduke Loke, to New Zealand to meet with other polio survivors.
Jackman plans to submit a proposal for funding with joint agencies to the Ministry of Health and Minister for Disabilities Issues Carmel Sepuloni later this year.