The FES (Functional Electronic System) is a wonderful creation which assists those with many illnesses with day to day walking. Those who have MS, Cerebral Palsy, spine issues or those who have had strokes benefit from this magical little lightening box.

I have a dropped foot which makes walking challenging and exhausting. I am in a very fortunate position as I have tried this machine and it is incredible!

For this system to work, two electrodes are positioned on the nerves to make whichever limb you need assistance with move. For me, the electrodes are strategically placed against two nerves on my left leg.

There is a foot switch position in my left shoe and a cable going from this switch to the electrical box in my pocket. This box is also attached to the electrodes on my leg.

When my heel rises from the ground, electricity goes from the electrodes to the nerve in my leg causing my foot to rise. This significantly improves walking, leaving more energy for other things, such as hobbling quickly for the bus or going to the kitchen to fetch that packet of biscuits you I just remembered that I have!

Now it is wonderful but it goes without saying that the experience has not been plain sailing!
The first day that I had the system to borrow from my physio, I tired using it and decided to put my splint back on for a while. I forgot to remove the squishy electrodes and destroyed one! It rolled up under the splint causing me to swear. At this point, I must stress that it is incredibly important that you keep your legs shaved! I cannot imagine what it is like for a bloke to pull a sticky electrode from their legs!

I recently I went for a very challenging walk up The Royal Mile in Edinburgh. If you have been to Edinburgh then you will appreciate how much of a challenge this hill is. My poor legs would say it is a 45 degree incline, I may be wrong though!

I may have been overambitious with this walk but I did with the help of the FES system! I was a bit reliant on the system the more exhausted I became as the following day my foot hurt a bit. I put the FES on as I normally would. It takes a few minutes to cable yourself up! I tested the electricity and my leg shot out! It was a little painful that morning. I powered through and went to wake up Super Sarah.

It was at this point that I realised that I was walking like Basil Fawlty doing his Nazi impression. I decided to wear my splint that day!

To ensure that I know where to position the electrodes on my leg, I have drawn squares on the best area. This ensures quick application of the system in the morning. This may sound a bit bizarre but I have heard of people tattooing these marks to their legs! Considering that the electrodes do sometimes need to be repositioned, I do see this as a bit of an error!

Nonetheless, having squares drawn on your leg is not so great either, especially in public when you forget they are there! I should clarify what I mean as that last sentence sounds a bit odd…

I went to the gym recently, went to the changing room and put on my shorts. I strolled out into the gym without a care in the world and climbed on to the rowing machine. That was when I spotted the squares on my legs. People were no longer looking at the strange woman strolling about the gym using a walker but now they were doing a double take at my leg wondering why on earth I had squares drawn on! Or that was what was happening in my head anyway…

I did the exact same thing at MS Life 2014 when getting changed for a yoga class. Super Sarah assured me that people would understand but I heard none of that. I was walking in public with squares on my legs, again! The first physio that stopped to chat with me looked at my leg stating “ahhh, you are using the FES system. How do you find it?”. So once again Super Sarah was right and I no longer worried.

A few days after I started using the system, we were popping to the supermarket when I very nearly fell out of the car! The FES wasn’t working! Super Sarah crouched to my foot and noticed that the connection in my shoes had detached. She started to reattach the cable but it took a few attempts. I had forgotten to pause the machine so every time the connectors touched, I was zapped with electricity! It was like a botched capital punishment attempt! This happened a few times before the cable was reattached. I was only in a little bit of discomfort!

The moral of this story, the FES system is an incredible piece of technology for people with all sorts of conditions. But be prepared for the strangest experiences as this machine will change your life in a number of different ways!