Young girl’s family fights to widen access to walking-assistance tool in Quebec

A Montreal startup says it can help children with mobility issues to walk again, but patients say the device is expensive and not covered by Quebec's health insurance board.

Mila Goolab, a seven-year-old girl with a neurological condition that affects her mobility, isn’t able to walk on her own — but a specialized new device gives her more freedom and the movement she has worked so hard to have in her young life.

The equipment, called Levity gait trainer, is different because while it helps Mila walk, it also gives her the ability to move her arms and use her hands freely. With a harness to support her weight and no arm rests, the young girl from Montreal’s south shore says her hands don’t hurt like they do when she uses a traditional walker.

“I can run sometimes,” she said while beaming. “I feel happy.”

Mila isn’t the only one benefitting from the device. The Montreal startup company behind Levity says it can help children with mobility issues to walk again, but patients say it is expensive and not covered by Quebec’s government-run health insurance board.

Kevin Goolab says his daughter Mila was born healthy, but developed transverse myelitis at 17 months old. The sudden onset left her temporarily paralyzed and she spent six weeks in a hospital intensive care unit.

Since then, Mila has worked hard to regain mobility but she still needs to use wheelchair. In fact, Mila shyly stole the spotlight when she joined her hero P.K. Subban on ice earlier this month at the Bell Centre, when the Montreal Canadiens honoured him. They have been with her hockey star’s foundation since she first became sick.

“It was exciting,” Mila said, while clutching her P.K. doll modeled after and signed by Subban.

Mila’s dad says she should be doing therapy at least five days a week and the family has also travelled to the United States for treatment when needed. But the costs of Mila’s different ongoing therapies are steep, especially as they cover more of it out of pocket.