SACRAMENTO, California — In 2019, Sacramento resident Karen Mills was riding her horse when it tripped and she fell off. She was wearing the proper safety gear but landed on her head, breaking her back. The accident left her paralyzed.
"I just fell wrong. It was just bad physics," Mills said. "Fortunately there was a firefighter and first responder in the lesson, Jonita, who immediately gave me lifesaving treatment and maintained it until the ambulance got there. I don't think I would be here without her."
She was immediately placed on a ventilator and spent the next six weeks in the hospital. When her medical team was discussing rehab options the idea of using a pacing system was introduced. Mills was equipped with Synapse Biomedical's NeuRX Diaphragm Pacing System. It stimulates the diaphragm electronically helping a patient breathe.
"Much like a cardiac pacemaker, which most people are familiar with, you have electrodes that are in the heart to pace the heart when the heart is not working. The diaphragm is the vital organ for respiration as the heart is for blood flow," said Synapse Biomedical President, CEO and Co-Founder Anthony Ignagni. "The travel without having to worry about the ventilator, charging the ventilator, plugging the ventilator in, are all things that can help with quality of life for a person."
Mills still sleeps with the ventilator but the pacer allows her to work in person. She's an attorney for the California Farm Bureau and uses her pacer eight to 12 hours a day.
"I can go in and attend meetings and interact with the other attorneys there," Mills said.
When she works from home she uses voice technology through her phone or computer. The pacer has also helped her get into physical therapy. With a ventilator that wouldn't be possible.
"When I was first injured there was no movement from my shoulders down, and since the injury, I've regained movement in my legs, in my hands," Mills said.
But, spinal cord injuries can vary from person to person.
"You know, it's really hard with these injuries because they're all so different," she said. "The main point is that there are possibilities of improvement for spinal cord patients even someone with my type of injury."
The pacer has premarket FDA approval which could give thousands of patients access. It's helped 2,500 patients worldwide since 2020.
Find out more about the device HERE.
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