Published: December 04, 2008 08:03 pm      

Cambria’s walking miracle...

PRINCETON — At 22, Cambria Terry has taken a lot of steps in her life. But, she took the one that made her mom cry in September.

The ever-cheerful young woman can strike up a conversation with hundreds of new friends a day, light up a room with one of her trademark smiles and tell a story with complete glee and conviction, but walking never came easy for her.

Born with hereditary spastic paraplegia, a set of genetic neurological disorders, one of Cambria’s symptoms is foot drop, a condition characterized by a weakness or paralysis in the muscles in her legs that would typically lift her toes.

As a result, Cambria’s gait was always rough and required the use of bulky braces and a walker. Even then, hills were tough, and stairs were nearly impossible. Since her toes wouldn’t naturally lift for the typical heel-to-toe motion when she walked, Cambria constantly had to watch for obstacles that could catch her toes and trip her up.

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That didn’t stop the bubbly 22-year-old from chasing her dreams, though. While she once wanted to be a cowgirl, considered professional dancing and thinks she might one day be an artist, Cambria’s goal since sixth grade has been to become a Walmart greeter.

Throughout her classes at Princeton Senior High School, or Tiger School as Cambria prefers, she set about to find a way to turn that dream into reality.

During her senior year, Cambria got an assignment to write a paper about the job she’d like to have someday. She not only wrote about that job. She took it for a test run.

After talking with then-Princeton Walmart Manager Matt Keesecker, Cambria borrowed a greeter’s vest and spent a day shadowing greeters and meeting people throughout Walmart.

She didn’t immediately go to work there, though.

For a while, Cambria worked at Opportunity Industries’ Mercer County workshop in Glenwood. Since she doesn’t drive, Cambria rode to Glenwood School with her mom, who teaches there, and got another ride to the workshop from there.

“That worked OK, but it was tough on her, because she had to go to work with me by 7, and she had to wait until the workshop van could come pick her up to go to work,” Regina Terry said. “She always told people she wanted to work at Walmart, but she had to wait until her mom graduated. Of course, she meant retired, but she said graduated.”

Then, the Terrys got word that Cambria had received a Title 19 grant that would furnish an adult companion from ResCare to help her get ready for work, drive her there and offer any overall help she needed along the way.

It was yet another blessing that helped make Cambria’s dream come true. With transportation in place, she could finally go to work at Walmart.

“I love greetin’ people and givin’ stickers to the kids - smiley faces. That’s the only kind we give them,” she said, listing her favorite things about the job.

A close second would have to be the time she saw a rather unobservant customer run right into the stand-up movie poster inside the store entrance. Just thinking about it still cracked her up Tuesday.

“That was so funny,” she said, drawing a laugh from Chuck.

“She laughed for an hour about that the other day, and I think she’s reliving it now.”

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Earlier this year, a friend of the family saw a news piece on technology that would make Cambria’s path much easier to travel.

Regina said she would never forget the conversation when her friend told her about the wonderful new devices made by the Bioness company. The man in the story walked a lot like Cambria, but with the Bioness braces and electrode technology, he lifted his toes and walked much easier.

“There are electrodes in each one of the bands, and they’re positioned so they’ll fire the right muscles to make them move when they need to,” Chuck, Cambria’s dad, explained.

After an Internet search lifted their hopes, the Terrys visited Dr. Todd Smith, who agreed that the Bioness product just might work wonders for Cambria.

The West Virginia Department of Rehabilitation furnished a scooter for Cambria to begin her new career. But, the Bioness technology was so new at the time, officials were not hopeful that they could provide them.

“They just said that braces she had were the standard of treatment for foot drop,” Regina explained.

But, the braces were difficult, if not impossible, to deal with at times. Any hill or valley in the terrain was impossible for Cambria to tackle without breaking her braces, and they held her foot static, in one position all day long. That often left the young lady who’s always happy more than a little uncomfortable, and Chuck said it led to the atrophy of her leg muscles. Since they never moved, nothing she did would exercise them or make them stronger.

Plus, the braces were so wide at the bottom that there was no way Cambria could wear pretty shoes. Even as a little girl, she never enjoyed shoe shopping, because the process usually left her wearing boys’ shoes because they were wider than girls.

“She always wanted to wear little girly, froo-froo shoes, but they never fit,” Regina said.

Content with the braces for the time being, the Terrys were still determined Cambria would get the Bioness braces. They called the extended family and friends together and started planning a fund-raising campaign.

One Wednesday night, Cambria attended a ladies’ Bible study session and asked the participants to pray that her aunt would be able to raise enough money for her Bioness devices.

Then, one day in September, an unexpected delivery brought a blessing Regina, Chuck and Cambria never expected. The Department of Rehabilitation changed course and decided to pay for the products that changed Cambria’s life.

That started the whirlwind.

Since no one locally had ever experienced the Bioness L-300, the company sent representatives from California to HealthSouth in Princeton to explain the product and test it on Cambria and her brother, who has a much milder form of foot drop and HSP.

Cambria’s brother, who stretches his muscles religiously to keep them limber and strong, has nearly perfected a smooth gait when he walks. He tried the apparatus first.

There are three pieces to the Bioness technology. The leg bands fit on the calves and contain the electrodes that actually put the muscles to work. Another sensor goes inside the shoes to alert the machines what type of surface the client is walking on and how high the toes need to lift each step, and a control determines whether the electrodes are on, in training mode or off.

Cambria’s brother walked somewhat better with the Bioness, but Regina wasn’t wowed by the results.

“We could tell a little improvement in the way he walked, but it wasn’t really a big deal,” Regina said. “When Cambria put them on, it was amazing.”

“She went on one foot over the other. That was the first time she’d ever done that,” Chuck said.

The difference even shocked the rehab experts at HealthSouth.

“When they saw the impact it had on Cambria, they knew they had to have it. They immediately put it in their budget,” Chuck said.

Seeing her walk naturally and more comfortably was a miracle for Regina and Chuck, but the best part was seeing her go up the stairs.

“She used to have to raise her leg, and still, her toes would get caught on the lip of the steps. Now, she just goes right up there. I can’t hardly watch it without crying now,” Regina said.

While physical rehabilitation has always been a part of Cambria’s weekly schedule, the Bioness braces gave her new reason to be excited.

She does a lot of strength training and muscle memory exercises such as side lifts and a move she affectionately calls the butt lift. Now, she also does laps around the gym, working to build strength in her legs and stamina.

“I like wearing them, but sometimes I like to take them off,” she said.

Even though doctors believe she’ll have to wear the devices to walk the rest of her life, they are establishing some muscle memory. Lifting her toes up and out was once completely impossible for Cambria, but prompted by Chuck this week, she managed to make her toes move in the right direction a bit.

“It’s really just a miracle,” Regina said. “We feel like we’ve already had Christmas in September.”

•••

One of the first trips Regina and Cambria made after getting the Bioness L-300 was to the shoe department of Walmart.

There, they realized Cambria’s feet are so tiny without braces she can wear a size 2 shoe, and to her delight, the froo-froo shoes she missed out on as a little girl all come in size 2.

“We were so excited, we bought five pairs of shoes that first day,” Regina said.

“Yeah. Now, I can wear whatever I want to,” Cambria chimed in.

She works between 16 and 20 hours a week on average, but she likes her job so much, Cambria’s always willing to pick up a few extra hours here and there.

She even brought home an award Tuesday, complete with balloons and a brand new key ring applauding her work and friendly spirit as a greeter.

And when she’s not working, she loves to play on her computer, work on her videogame skills, draw pictures and play with the family’s two puppies, Peppermint Patty and Shroeder.

“I like to watch little cartoons on my computer too,” she said.

Every day brings new challenges for Cambria, but the Terrys are extremely thankful for the news show a friend saw, the devices that finally help their baby girl walk and the answered prayers that brought them to their door.

“You know, she’s got so many things that she faces every day, and she still smiles,” Regina said. “And, over the last eight months or so, it just seems like thinks have been falling into place for her. We’ve just been blessed so abundantly.”

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.