We often take life for granted – it is not until we get sick or injured that we understand how much we can miss having a normal life.
Not being able to do all the things we used to do. The things that our friends do every day.
At our production facility in Palm Coast, Florida, Sandvik makes EXERA® wire-based components used for medical devices that are in many cases life-saving, but most of all life-changing. For example, those related to diabetes, heart conditions and hearing loss. Devices that can return you to an almost normal life, or as one user put it – a new normal life.
We have met four people and each has a medical device that gave them a new normal life. We want to tell you their stories. About how joy was brought back into their lives.
Amanda
This is the story of Amanda, a 12-year-old from Sweden who was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 at the age of four. Today she has a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) that in real-time checks her blood glucose level without the need for a finger prick.
With this life-changing device, Amanda and her family can do the things they most enjoy. Living an almost normal life where Amanda can hang out with friends, compete in gymnastics, but also practice other sports without having to worry about high or low glucose levels.
Minna
Minna is originally from Finland but lives in Sweden and works for Sandvik. She has a pacemaker and before the device was installed, exertion could leave her breathless, dizzy and she could easily faint.
The pacemaker helps Minna’s heart to beat with a steady rhythm and allows her to do what she enjoys most – leading an active life which includes swimming, long walks, dance classes, and other physical activities.
Did you know that the pacemaker is a Swedish innovation?
Katina
Diabetes cannot stop the eternal love from a super mom for five kids.
Katina lives in Orlando, Florida, USA and has what is called “late adult-onset type 1” diabetes. Meaning she got it as an adult. Katina works at the Sandvik production unit in Palm Coast, Florida where EXERA wire-based components for CGMs are made and was part of the team that developed the products. She had no idea that she would eventually need the device herself and that it would be life-changing. Today the CGM helps her to live a normal life while working or doing what she loves most – being with her family and raising five kids. They can all rest assured, knowing that the CGM will alert them if her levels are high or low – which can be life-saving!
Katherine
To once again hear birds singing and grandchildren laughing. Or a concert. What could be more beautiful to someone who has been wearing hearing aids for over 20 years?
Katherine, based in Palm Coast, Florida, USA is originally from the deep south in Georgia. She now has a cochlear implant but before this device was installed, she was almost completely deaf. A very social person, Katherine became isolated when she could not hear. Today she is able to do what she enjoys most in life – talk to her grandchildren via her iPad, go to the city hall and listen to music, watch a movie at the cinema or chat with her friends.
For more information, please fill out the enquiry form attached to this page.