(ARA) - Most people don't really start slowing down until they're well into their 60s and 70s, but by the time he was 45-years-old, Bob Burns' stamina had decreased so much, he could only walk short distances. He stopped going most places except work and even that was tough.

"With the help of crutches at first, and eventually a wheelchair, I'd force myself to go out to the car, get in and drive to work. Then I'd find my way to my desk where I'd stay all day because I was so fatigued," he says. After work and on weekends, Burns had to stop doing the things he enjoyed, like walking out in his backyard to sit by the water and going to a store, because it was difficult to go anywhere by himself.

He eventually determined he was suffering from Post Polio Syndrome (PPS), a condition for which there is no cure. PPS typically affects polio survivors 10 to 40 years after an initial polio attack. In Burns' case, the onset of symptoms came 40 years after he first experienced the disease at the age of four.

"It was during the epidemic in 1955 that I first came down with it. At that time the Salk vaccine was being given to kids 5 and older. My brother and sister got the vaccine, but I didn't and I came down with the disease."

Burns is not alone in his battle. According to the Post-Polio Task Force, PPS now affects between 20 and 40 percent of the 640,000 polio survivors in this country -- that's between 128,000 and 256,000 people. In each of them, the body compensated for the loss of nerve cells to polio by sprouting extra nerve endings to restore function in the muscles. It is believed that these "axonal sprouts" eventually fail after years of use, resulting in loss of muscle strength, pain and fatigue. "I experienced all of those symptoms and then some," says Burns.

Just when he had given up hope of ever being able to function normally again, he attended a FIRST Robotics competition with his son that changed everything. The person leading the competition was Dean Kamen, inventor of the INDEPENDENCE iBOT 4000 Mobility System, a unique wheelchair that gives people with disabilities back their mobility.

The iBOT uses multiple computers to help its users elevate and travel at eye-to-eye height, climb curbs (as high as 5") and stairs, and drive over different types of terrain, like sand, gravel and grass. The iBOT Mobility System's Balance Function is the feature that has made the biggest impact on Burns. "Engaging another person on an eye-to-eye level is something you take for granted until you don't have it. Then you realize how important it is," says Burns, who uses the chair's Balance Function several times daily.

To find out if the iBOT Mobility System can improve your quality of life or help someone you know, log on to www.ibotnow.com and fill out the quick online form. A customer service representative will follow up with you in the manner you request -- by phone, email or by sending an informational packet through the U.S. Mail.

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