Carol Van Der Pennen, an Adelaide grandmother who once struggled to walk, has hiked around Japan’s Mount Fuji after an Australian-developed implant dramatically eased her chronic back pain.
For five years, the southern suburbs grandmother lived with debilitating pain after a serious crash. Her vintage Rolls-Royce was rear-ended at 80km/h, and she said the impact triggered a steady decline in both her health and independence.
“With constant pain you can’t think, you can’t sleep and your mental processes are totally scrambled,” she said.
The grandmother, who had come to rely on a walking stick, said the pain left her unable to enjoy the life she previously had. She told 7NEWS, “It’s given me my life back.”
In February, doctors implanted a new spinal cord stimulator that is designed to automatically respond to changes in a patient’s body. The device sends electrical pulses to interrupt pain signals before they reach the brain.
“From the moment it was switched on, the pain stopped,” Van Der Pennen said.
Unlike older stimulators, the new system continually adjusts treatment according to how the body is responding. Pain specialist Matthew Green said that overcomes many of the problems patients faced with earlier devices.
“It doesn’t provide unpleasant, unnecessary or unwanted stimulation,” he said.
The technology was developed in Australia and was approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration earlier this year.
“It’s a new technology. No one else has it. Everyone else is going to want it,” Green said.
For Van Der Pennen, the effect has been life changing. She has travelled overseas since receiving the implant, explored Japan and is already planning another trip.
“Set and forget. Couldn’t be easier,” she said.
She is also back driving a vintage car, with a renewed sense of freedom and a future she once believed had been taken from her.
