My name is Cinnamon DeBoer, and I’m 55 years old and was diagnosed with MS and Lymes disease in 2011. At the time of my diagnosis I ended up with severe mobility issues and in a scooter for about two years. I tried the MS medication for a short period of time which seemed to make everything worse, so I stopped that and I received IV treatment for Lymes disease in 2014. I regained the ability to walk and my quality of life was getting better and my health improved for a while.
However in 2022 after I moved to Florida thinking the warmer weather would help my aches and Lymes symptoms, I got very sick and almost died from kidney and organ failure. Thankfully, in 2022, I met a biological doctor and dentist team while in Florida that found that my health issues were never MS or even Lymes completely but instead heavy metal toxicity from metal dental implants and the titanium plate in my ankle from a bad ankle break in 2018.
In December 2022 I had the metal from my ankle and pins removed and in 2023 I had 3 major dental surgeries to have all my metal implants/posts and teeth removed from my mouth. Those surgeries involved pulling my teeth and getting dentures and took the entire year to complete.
After all the metal was removed my organs recovered and I received a new lease on life! My health has improved immensely with the only remaining issue being I have nerve damage to my left hand and arm and left foot similar to a stroke patient. The metals in my bloodstream for such a long period of time caused lesions in my spinal chord similar to MS and interrupted my brain’s signal to my left hand causing the loss of fine motor skills and my left foot causing issues with my gate and walking.
After a year of physical therapy I was directed to Bioness who makes equipment that can rehabilitate and improve the quality of life for people who have experienced nerve/neural path damage. In January 2025 received a clinical trial of the Bioness H200 unit to see if I could possibly rehabilitate my left hand and the test was successful! What is this unit? I’ll tell you from the info that Bioness has provided below:
“The H200 Wireless Hand Rehabilitation System:
The H200 Wireless Hand Rehabilitation System is an FDA cleared advanced functional electrical stimulation (FES) system that is intended to provide individuals with a mechanism to regain function and use of an upper limb that has been limited by a central nervous system injury or illness. The H200 Wireless allows for the precise delivery of patterned electrical stimulation to the muscles of the upper limb through a portable, single-channel electrical neuromuscular stimulator. The H200 Wireless supports the wrist in a normal functional position to allow the fingers and the thumb to flex and move efficiently for gripping and manipulation.
For Cinnamon, the technology allows her to fully open and close her hand so she can reach, grasp, and release objects and use her arm functionally for daily activities. It helps to strengthen and maintain the muscles in her hand and forearm, as well as help her to activate the muscles in her upper arm and shoulder through the increased usage of her arm.
The current research supports the use of “Functional Electrical Stimulation therapy to improve hemiparetic upper extremity function.” Included in this meta-analysis you will see a study by King that demonstrated “Subjects in the NMES group experienced significantly greater reduction in tone, measure by a torque meter.” These are only 2 of many studies that show promise regarding FES utilization daily with patients suffering central nervous symptoms impairments.”
Unfortunately because I’m on Medicare/Disability the Medicare A and B insurance I have does not cover the cost of this unit. I am fundraising hoping to afford one so that I can regain some use of my left hand and be more functional and have a better quality of life. In reality, I have accepted my limitations as my hand has been affected for over 15 years. My main goal is to be able to take care my myself without help by regaining some control of my left hand and arm with use of the H200 permanently.
