The PROVALE® Cup is Helping Stroke Patients

For More Information                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reliant Medical Products, Inc.

1-800-757-7579

www.reliantmp.com                                            June 16, 2003

A Toast to Freedom

A sip of red wine after a romantic Italian meal may sound commonplace for most of us, but for Claire Ludwig, it is a miracle. After her stroke four years ago left her unable to drink even water, a special treat at a restaurant means a few of the pleasures of life before the stroke have returned.

 

"It’s not much wine, but it is nice for her to have a sip with dinner," says her husband and caretaker, Bill Ludwig.

Claire recently received electrical stimulus therapy for her throat, enabling her to start swallowing again. Until then, she had been taking all of her liquids through a stomach tube.

To help keep the liquids flowing, her therapist, Marcy Freed, of University Hospital in Cleveland, recommended a special cup to assist in proper swallowing. The PROVALE® Cup delivers a set amount of liquid to help the patient swallow a controllable amount. While it sounds simple, for Claire, it simply means independence.

"She hadn’t had a drink of water for four years. Just imagine being thirsty and not being able to drink After her treatment, she was able to take swallows of small amounts of water but not much, and somebody had to hold a cup for her because of the tremors in her hands and arms.

"Now, you can put a cup in front of her and she can pick it up and drink herself. Just imagine what that does for her. She is now able to drink whenever she is thirsty," says her husband. The couple lives in Bonita Springs, Fla.

The PROVALE® Cup allows Claire to drink more safely than drinking with assistance. Even the steadiest assistant’s hand can pour too much, or exhaust the patient by pouring too little, making the process laborious. With the cup, the dependable, measured amount goes into the mouth. In spite of the most severe tremors, The PROVALE® Cup will not cause the patient to drench themselves.

Bill explains, "When you have a tremor while holding a cup up to your mouth, you can flood your mouth. With The PROVALE® Cup, people can be independent without endangering themselves. That is precisely it."

So many patients with swallowing disorders suffer from malnutrition and dehydration. These conditions can further hamper the healing process, causing patients to get sicker. With The PROVALE® Cup, water, tea, milk and juices, can give patients the refreshing feeling of satisfied thirst along with calcium, Vitamin C and for Claire Ludwig, that occasional sip of heart-healthy wine. It can also free her from the stomach tube.

"People say, well, she can eat a steak and swallow it, why can’t she drink water? But liquid is the toughest thing to swallow. It can easily splash around the mouth and go down to the wrong place. The only thing she uses the stomach tube for now is liquids. If she can learn to drink water with this cup, she will be free of the tube," Bill says.

 

Feeling better in body is only part of the equation; independence brings healing to the mind as well. Before. she might sit and watch television and receive a couple of sips of water. If she became thirsty, she often would be reluctant to call someone else to hold her cup, worrying that she might bother them. The power to respond to her body’s urge to drink grants patients like Claire renewed confidence. Now, she can watch her favorite shows with her own cup.

"My wife is a very independent person. She likes to do things for herself. She does not like the idea of requiring assistance. It means a lot to her to be able to drink at her own pace, when she wants to drink, without asking anyone."

A woman who has already beaten breast cancer, Claire is described as a bright and determined woman. Her husband brags that four weeks after cancer surgery, she was back on the tennis courts with her power serve intact.

"When she makes up her mind to do something, she does it," he says.

Now 68, Clair Ludwig is battling the effects of her stroke, one struggle at a time. One of her victories is that now she can share a meal with her husband in a restaurant and look into his eyes across a table. Before, he would have to stand beside her and hold a cup for her to drink, which she found embarrassing, according to Bill.

"Now, she can drink like normal people. The PROVALE® Cup has allowed her to take one more step toward a normal life."

 

The PROVALE® Cup is a product of Reliant Medical Products, a specialty medical products company founded in 1999 in Birmingham, Alabama.  Reliant’s initial focus is on products for people with swallowing difficulties.