<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2FZY0A_12nHDMfM00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2FZY0A_12nHDMfM00" width="1200" height="600" >LAUREL, Miss. (WDAM) - A new physical therapy device at South Central Regional Medical Center is being used to help patients maintain balance and take safer steps into recovery.One step at a time, 12-year-old Harper Buckley is on a mission to walk alone with straight legs.“This has been our goal all along to get her as much independence as possible,” said Brittany Buckley, the girl’s mother.The new LiteGait physical therapy device at SCRMC is helping her daughter along the way.“These surgeries have helped me a lot and I love physical therapy and the people that help me,” said Harper Buckley.Harper Buckley was diagnosed with spina bifida before birth. The condition caused damage to both of her legs.“She was a twin, so there was no option of fetal surgery,” Brittany Buckley said. “There was a cyst that caused her spine not to close all the way, which ruptured at birth and caused nerve damage to her (fifth lumbar spine vertebrae) and her sacrum,” said Brittany Buckley.Since she was 4-months old, Harper Buckley has undergone lots of surgeries, including having her feet reconstructed.She sports hardware in her ankles and feet.Harper Buckley just went through another surgery in March called distal femoral osteotomy to fix issues wit6h bending her knees called contractures. That’s when Harper started using the LiteGate, a device that includes a harness to lift and reduce body weight for a patient to walk.The device also helps patients move around and maintain balance.“So, the goal up until now has been to help keep her strength built up, maintain the range of motion in her knees because that started to decrease as she grew, and just to keep up her endurance,” said SCRMC physical therapist Alex Arledge.Arledge said the device can be used across a number of disciplines and applications, from pediatrics to traumatic brain injuries.With the new device in hand, Harper Buckley said she was looking to the future of walking back into the pageant industry.“That’s my goal, to help me stand up straight and be in pageants,” she said.Physical therapists at South Central have gone through training for the new LiteGait device.For more information, click HERE.Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.</div></body>

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LAUREL, Miss. (WDAM) - A new physical therapy device at South Central Regional Medical Center is being used to help patients maintain balance and take safer steps into recovery. One step at a time, 12-year-old Harper Buckley is on a mission to walk alone with straight legs. “This has been...

SCRMC offers new physical therapy device

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LAUREL, Miss. (WDAM) - A new physical therapy device at South Central Regional Medical Center is being used to help patients maintain balance and take safe

SCRMC offers new physical therapy device

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