Esther Klang
“I am so thankful and will forever be grateful to The Be Perfect Foundation and all its generous donors for enabling me to have this special moment.”
My name is Esther Klang, I live in Brooklyn, NY, and I'm a 28-year-old young woman who is a quadriplegic, has a tracheostomy, right vocal cord paralysis, shallow breathing, and uses a ventilator at night. A month before my 11th birthday, I was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor and had surgery to try to remove the tumor, the surgeons were able to remove around 60% of the tumor before being forced to stop the surgery due to several episodes of severe hypertension. The surgery was life-altering and completely changed my life and stole my childhood and life away. It has left me with many long-lasting effects and serious medical issues. I was initially on a ventilator all the time, unable to be weaned off of it even for a short time. I was also almost completely paralyzed and couldn't swallow and had a feeding tube. I was unable even to have a taste of my birthday cake. This was a very dark time for me, and I still cry when I think about that time. I was transferred to an inpatient acute care rehab facility where I stayed for almost a year trying to regain some mobility. Along the way I had many infections, cases of pneumonia, and rounds of chemotherapy. I was in and out of rehabilitation facilities and hospitals for over 16 months.
I've noticed that when I get quality intense therapy like the walking sessions where I have the incredible opportunity to walk with Wandercraft’s Atlante exoskeleton I feel better physically, emotionally, and mentally. Therapy helps relieve my leg, back and neck pain, my pain exacerbates when I don't move my hands and feet and the pain makes me cranky and not nice to my family and caregivers. Walking in the Atlante exoskeleton I hope that with therapy I will be more mobile, which will greatly decrease my pain levels and enable me not to be so upset at everyone all the time and learn some skills on what I can do to ease my pain. Eventually I hope that with the therapy I will be able to weight shift by myself and learn strategies on how to move my hands and feet. Also, I'm very excited to have the opportunity to use the exoskeleton. This fantastic machine will enable me to have the wonderful experience of walking, giving me a sense of freedom and independence.
I am so thankful and will forever be grateful to The Be Perfect Foundation and all its generous donors for enabling me to have this special moment.