Richard Baerg (37) lives near Lörrach, Germany. As a nurse, his main job was to help people. Until he became ill himself and had to learn to ask for help. In 2012, following an inflammation of the optic nerve, the then 25-year-old was unexpectedly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. More than 120,000 people in Germany are affected by MS. It is one of the most common neurological diseases that lead to permanent disability in young adulthood. This is because there is no cure for MS. Damaged nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord or optic nerves lead to mobility problems such as muscle weakness, pain or spasticity. Conventional drug therapies focus mainly on reducing the frequency of relapses. And many of the symptoms can be effectively treated over time.

When Ricky received his diagnosis, he had just completed his second vocational training, finally wanted to embark on his dream job as a nurse and was even considering emigrating to Canada with his wife Meike. Under cortisone therapy, his eyesight improved again and the sharper his vision became, the more he pushed the disease with its thousand faces into the background: ’Somehow, this diagnosis was there, but I doing was fine. I was always quite athletic, bicycling a lot and playing volleyball and basketball. I was able to do all of that, so I didn’t necessarily bother with the disease. I was 25. I just wanted to live my life,’Ricky recalls the early stages.

‘I thought I didn’t have the right to complain’

Lake Chiemsee instead of Canada: Ricky and Meike settled down in a small house in Upper Bavaria. In 2015, three years after the diagnosis, Ricky became the father of a young daughter for the first time. For the sports fan, this was one of his lifelong dreams come true. At the same time, he noticed that his physical performance was gradually deteriorating. When riding his bike he increasingly had muscle cramps in his legs, which he endured and ignored and then continued on. Until the disease could no longer be ignored. One night he developed a fever and could no longer walk. His neurologist prescribed injection therapy for relapsing-remitting MS. It restored the young father to such a level that one year later he was able to travel with his family through North America for a month during parental leave. Nevertheless, Ricky was happy when he could push the buggy for support while walking. His second child was born the following year. At that time, Ricky was using Nordic walking poles as a device for balance.

Over the next few months, things went downhill faster than expected. This also forced the nurse to deal openly with his illness at work: ’At the clinic I outed myself as having MS. I was afraid of this step because I didn’t know what the consequences would be. I mostly considered it to be a weakness,’said the now 37-year-old. ‘But I received a lot of support, both from my bosses and from my colleagues and I noticed that being open also helps you get openness in return.’

At the time, Ricky was working in an anaesthesia clinic in Mühldorf am Inn, Germany, and was also caring for a man suffering from ALS in the out-of-hospital intensive care. These activities fulfilled him in a meaningful way and were extremely important. He set himself the goal of assuming more responsibility. At the same time, due to his working environment, he had the impression that he was still doing relatively well and that he did not have the right to complain: ‘Every day, I saw that there were many people worse off than me. From that point of view, I was fine.’ Ricky had yet to learn to recognise and accept his own limits. In consultation with his neurologist, Ricky tried out another form of therapy in late 2018. But the treatments could not stop the progression of MS.

When the body forces you to rethink

Despite his support at work, Ricky increasingly found himself reaching his physical limits. The year 2020 marked a turning point for him. His neurologist observed him secretly and prescribed him a wheelchair, whether he liked it or not. A father of three at that time, he realised that he could no longer carry on like this. He no longer was able to live up to his responsibilities and his own demands: ‘I realised that I needed to pay more attention to my body and that I could no longer push my limits without consequences. This was very difficult for me.’

Ricky managed to prioritise himself and his family: He changed employers and now worked in the electrical business of a former classmate who had offered him a job in office management: ‘I no longer had to take responsibility for all the patients, which was a relief for me. I was able to take better care of myself,’ he described the step.

That year, the sports fan went to rehabilitation for the first time and realised how much good it did him. His belief that ‘there is something good behind every setback’ also increasingly solidified. This was because he participated in a "wish come true" campaign of a local newspaper and shared his story together with his wife Meike. Ricky’s wish was a handbike, a pull device for the wheelchair so he could move better and faster in his everyday life. The cost of this amounted to around 10,000 euros. Within a few days, the sum was collected: A private beverage market, the church community, local associations, an old gentleman from the area – everyone participated. To this day, the family man can’t quite grasp this positive response: ‘I’ve received a great deal of help and support and I’m very, very grateful for that. Thanks to this handbike, I can go biking with my wife again and take my children to nursery school or gymnastics.’

Fewer side effects than medications: A device brings hope

Through this experience, Ricky discovered another device that made his life easier: the Exopulse Mollii Suit neuromodulation suit. A friend encouraged him to get active on Instagram. Since that time, Ricky started sharing insights into his day-to-day life with MS, showing how he and Meike deal with his illness in their relationship and family life and providing tips to others with MS. In 2021, a follower wrote to ask him whether he had heard about the suit and sent him some user videos. ‘I was thrilled, of course, and immediately set up a test appointment,’says Ricky. At the end of 2021, Ricky had the chance to try out the suit at a medical supply company. ‘I was very excited before the appointment. As a patient, you cling to anything that gives you a bit of hope and the suit worked right away. Directly after the first hour-long test at the medical supply company, I could feel my legs better and movements were easier.

The Swedish chiropractor’s innovation, which is unique in the world, stimulates muscles affected by spasticity with integrated electrodes. Targeted electrical impulses relax spastic muscles and relieve pain. With positive results, as confirmed by initial clinical studies – the suit improves the mobility, range of motion and balance while reducing pain. The neuromodulation suit helps people with neurological movement disorders, such as cerebral palsy, after a stroke or – in Ricky’s case – with multiple sclerosis. The suit also relieves symptoms such as pain that are experienced by persons with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder.

To Ricky it became clear that he needed the suit. However, his health insurance provider initially rejected the application for a treatment. Within the course of a month he documented the success of his therapy with the test suit, recorded videos, kept a diary and counted his steps. Leading to success: Since 2023, he has been wearing the Exopulse Mollii Suit every other day for 60 minutes, usually during moderate exercise or for physical therapy. For Ricky, a big advantage of the device is that the suit is non-medicinal and non-invasive: ‘All medications also have a side effect, they act systemically on the whole body. The medication for my spasticity resulted in me not having enough muscle tension in my body in general. I preferred not to take anything and endure the spasticity instead. It’s much better with the suit: It relieves my spasticity in my legs in a targeted manner without ultimately having any side effects. The spasticity isn’t completely gone, but it’s significantly alleviated and I still have the strength to stand.’

The trained nurse already tested the new generation of the suit, the exopulse suit, earlier this year. Amongst other things, Ricky noticed improvements in his bladder and urge incontinence, a common side effect of neurological disorders.

‘Above all, the new exopulse suit is more suitable for everyday use, more comfortable and more effective than its predecessor model. This way, we are giving users a real opportunity to improve their quality of life. Firstly, the new electrode concept enables even more precise stimulation; secondly, the suit is easier to handle with the new design. These are changes that really make a difference in everyday life. This is also confirmed by feedback from users,’says Jan Salzmann, Market Manager NeuroMobility at Ottobock, of the new model.

A youthful dream becomes reality: Moving to the countryside with friends and starting a new life

In 2022, Ricky’s life took another unexpected turn when two friends from school got in touch with him with an unusual suggestion. As students, the three had dreamed of living together – what if they made the dream a reality? A suitable plot of land has already been found, an old farm near Lörrach in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

Despite initial misgivings, the idea stuck to the minds of Ricky and his wife. The family of five moved from southeastern to southwestern Germany to a nine-hectare farm. There, the friends jointly restructured a large barn in such a way that each of them got their own home and their own retreat. Today, 13 adults and 18 children are involved in the housing project.

Everyday life is both communal and independent: childcare in the afternoon and evening or large and small errands can be distributed among different shoulders. Once a week there is a joint dinner and construction days are regularly scheduled. Ricky now works as a consultant at the social service department of the hospital in Lörrach. There he can sit in a wheelchair and combine his commercial knowledge with his passion for medicine and care. He lives out his passion for sports by practicing wheelchair basketball and playing inclusive table tennis. Ricky attends physiotherapy twice a week and uses his neuromodulation suit for one hour every other day: ‘I’ve regained some quality of life. Thanks to the stimulation, I move more freely and my balance has improved. The suit helps me stay active. That’s the most important thing in day-to-day life with three children and for a self-determined life overall.’

A holiday destination for all: How Ricky is planning to incorporate inclusion in his farm

Typical of Ricky, he was not satisfied with simply enjoying his idyllic residence. In the future, he wants to create a barrier-free holiday destination on the farm that is adapted to the needs of other affected persons and people with disabilities. For the 37-year-old, this also means sports equipment you can try out. He knows from experience how limited the range of accessible and disabled-friendly family holidays is to date.

He advises other MS sufferers not to let their disease control them, even if it seems difficult. ‘We have to go out, take part in life and stay active,’he says. ‘In the 13 years since my diagnosis, I got to know myself better and learned to communicate. That was only possible with openness.’ To Ricky, there’ssomething good behind every setback. By having the courage to be open about his illness he was mainly met with great helpfulness and was able continue to develop despite, or perhaps because, of this. Today, he makes room for MS in his life – but doesn’t let it dictate it.

Overview: exopulse suit from Ottobock

• User-friendly neuromodulation suit, consisting of a jacket, shorts and two small, smart control units  

• Assists people with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, after a stroke and other neurological disorders as well as fibromyalgia

• Targeted use: 50 electrodes individually stimulate affected muscle groups ‒ up to 122 muscles or the 42 most important muscle functions

• Relaxes tense or spastic muscles and reduces pain, improves mobility and balance as well as everyday movements such as walking and grasping 

• Gentle: non-invasive and non-medicinal, significantly lower risk of side effects

• Recommended use: every other day for 60 minutes (unless otherwise prescribed)

• Available in 37 sizes, from children aged two years and up to 5XL for men and women

• Testing and consulting at certified medical supply companies

Additional links

• Media information: Exopulse

• Photos © Ottobock / private: https://we.tl/t-53tcX2VF78