Funding for FES bike

[trainman]

Last summer, I got to try an FES bike for the first time. It worked well, completely stopped spasms for several hours, and felt GREAT to have my legs moving again. I went up to Des Moines, about an hour away, every other week for it until the weather got too cold for shorts. We've had a warm stretch, so I have been able to go up a couple times again recently and my legs did great even after the break.

I have been working with Restorative Therapies to try to get my own, but with no luck. The bike is a covered item by my insurance, but they only pay after receiving the machine. Restorative Therapies will only deliver the bike if they have payment before hand, there lies the problem. Insurance won't do a prior approval for it, so neither party will budge.

Restorative Therapies wants me to take out a $25,000 loan to pay for it and hope insurance actually does cover it. Living mainly on SSI, I'm not about to dare try that route. My parents are HIGHLY against asking for donations and will not allow me to use that as a possibility.

So, are their possibilities I'm missing? In 31 years of SCI, I'm used to funding nightmares. I've started to see the benefits of the bike in the little time I've used it and hope to continue.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Hey Trainman, glad to hear your so enthusiastic about getting a FES bike. You can get yourself in much better shape if you have the discipline to use it regularly as you know. I would not rule out the possibility of getting a used older Electrologic or Theraputic Alliances bike if I were you, you can get one next to nothing and if you have a friend or family member who is mechanical and can help you with things you should be ok. They really are not that complicated as long as the computer head powers up and self tests out ok. They were built to last for many decades. The main thing is you need the space in your room to put them as they are big and take up a lot of space. If there is anyone reading this that could sell for cheap or donate one to trainman speak up now, sounds like Trainman is really going to use it and benefit by it, so anybody that has one just sitting there unused taking up space I'm sure Trainman would great appreciate it. I have 2 electrologics myself and use them both, one in the winters and one in the summers. Great FES bikes, very few problems with them over the past 15 years, still working fine.

Just want to add, funding is not easy. I remember certain states it was not bad, but others near impossible.

[nrf]

I bought a used RTI leg and arm machine on E-Bay 3 years ago for $6,000. It has given me no problems. My 7 year old leg and arm crank have worked without any problems. We have up to 10 people a day using them. They also have a built in gait stim pattern to help if you ever get to the point that you can use weight assisted gait therapy. They can also be used to help you do squats sit-ups and many other excercises. I hope you score one! RTI should really be more help. Several people who come to our gym have had insurance pay for them. Keep pushing and good luck!

[JAMESRRR]

Hey Leatherrbee-

how would you go about getting a used one for next to nothing?

E-bay, Craigslist?

Any suggestions would be great.

Hey Trainman, glad to hear your so enthusiastic about getting a FES bike. You can get yourself in much better shape if you have the discipline to use it regularly as you know. I would not rule out the possibility of getting a used older Electrologic or Theraputic Alliances bike if I were you, you can get one next to nothing and if you have a friend or family member who is mechanical and can help you with things you should be ok. They really are not that complicated as long as the computer head powers up and self tests out ok. They were built to last for many decades. The main thing is you need the space in your room to put them as they are big and take up a lot of space. If there is anyone reading this that could sell for cheap or donate one to trainman speak up now, sounds like Trainman is really going to use it and benefit by it, so anybody that has one just sitting there unused taking up space I'm sure Trainman would great appreciate it. I have 2 electrologics myself and use them both, one in the winters and one in the summers. Great FES bikes, very few problems with them over the past 15 years, still working fine.

Just want to add, funding is not easy. I remember certain states it was not bad, but others near impossible.

[trainman]

I have looked on Ebay, but haven't found anything yet. My wrists and fingers aren't flexible enough anymore to do anything other than leg stimulation.

I do get odd looks rolling in to the hospital wearing shorts and a sweat shirt.

[JAMESRRR]

Have you ever tried Active Hands?

http://www.activehands.com/products/...r-individuals/

They are very helpful.

[Domosoyo]

Would an outside review help in waiving those insurance restrictions? I don't know. I just want you to keep getting those shorts and sweatshirt on!

[cfx]

25k is nuts I think I paid 15 for mine from RTI. RTI talks a good game about insurance paying but from my experience Insurance will not pay anything for an FES bike. They told me they will keep hounding my insurance and get them to pay. Truth is they really don't and you find yourself paying for it after all.

You can try a go fund me account.

Hope things work out for you. They are nice.

[Curt Leatherbee]

My suggestion would be to put a classified on this site (equipment and services) wanted to buy. You should be able to get a old Electrologic or Theraputic Alliances bike for around a grand or even less or free, just gotta pay to have it shipped which is expensive as they are so heavy. Ebay is a real long shot. Maybe do a write up on the equipment forums asking how people like their older style FES bikes, I feel the older ones cause you want to buy a FES bike and this might be a option for you. Better one of the older ones be used rather than sitting collecting cobwebs. Actually you get a better workout than the RTI's on the older ones, although you'd have to have help transferring onto it. You are looking great Joel, exercise is so very important and your proof it can be done even at your level of injury. I sometimes feel bad having worked with Petrofsky for not expressing more thanks for all he did for us in creating FES bike technology back in the early 1980's. Instead I was overly critical of things, he defiantly was a real genius though.

[Curt Leatherbee]

25k is nuts I think I paid 15 for mine from RTI. RTI talks a good game about insurance paying but from my experience Insurance will not pay anything for an FES bike. They told me they will keep hounding my insurance and get them to pay. Truth is they really don't and you find yourself paying for it after all.

You can try a go fund me account.

Hope things work out for you. They are nice.

Ya, I know. And RTI originally said their new FES bike was going to be around 7 grand when they came out about 11 years ago. Think of all the older useful FES bikes that were destroyed by them too with their early trade in incentives, I'm sure they put those bikes out of commission pretty quickly no doubt.

I'm not crazy about the way things turned out. The idea was to get more people with Spinal Cord Injuries Exercising and it has not turned out that way as it has tended to be cost prohibitive.