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they're medical devicesroutinely used by both men and women. and as a growing numberof the us population ages, it's a device certain to increase indemand and use. and we're talking about urinarycatheters. and while a sensitive medical topic, no doubt, it'sone that really merits

corticosteroid creams, discussion.with us to do exactly that, nikki mccormick, managingdirector for wellspect healthcare. also joining us thismorning is dr. matthew sand, a urologist with the shepherdcenter in atlanta. and later on

we're going to get a close upand personal conversation with two catheter users. youngadults, benefiting from the use of state of the art catheters.here to lend their personal perspective on this importanttopic. good morning to both of you.good morning. nikki, let me start with you.let's talk about exactly what is a urinary catheter and what it'sused for. ok, well, intimate incatheterization is the second best way to enter your bladder.the first way is what you and do

voluntarily every day.sure. it's a special tube called acatheter that's inserted into the bladder. it drains the urineand then is removed and discarded. so, it allows thebladder to work normally, filling and emptying as needed.and there are many conditions that cause the bladder to notwork properly, for instance, spinal cord injury.that's right. ms, spinal bifoda.the aging process. so, intimate in catheterization allows thebladder to working normally and

lofric and hard to fill itcatheter that allows the patient to use that product and maintaintheir bladder health. doctor, obviously the make up ofa man and woman are different. so, are catheters designeddifferently for each individual? sure. the ultimate design of thecatheter is similar. it's the length of the catheter that'sdifferent, the male and female urinary tract are of differentlengths. so, that's the main difference.now, nikki, your company developed and invented thehydrophilic catheter.

tell me more about that.wellspect formally asterteck, invented the lofric catheterback in 1983. and we've continued to develop and involvethe product during that time up until the present day of thenewer products like lofric origo and lofric sense. so, we've beenaround a long time. have a lot of experience and we continue toafer 30 years of being an expert in the intimate incatheterization market, we're leaders in innovation, quality,development and providing education materials for usersand healthcare professionals.

so, as a company we strive topassionately make a real difference to every one everyday that uses our products and that's important.sure. if it has to fit in to yourlifestyle. and so, and we want to continue evolve and developand provide a solution for our users.and doctor, you obviously, being a urologist, what's the feedbackyou've gotten from patients with the lofric line?it's been a very very positive feedback. many times i'll exposepatients to this type catheter

and they're surprised at howeasy it is to pass a catheter, how smooth the catheter is andit really does change their day to day life and improves it. andoverall they've been very satisfied with this type ofcatheter. which is great because when youfirst think about the wording, you hear the word catheter, youimmediately kind of cringe, but yet, there could be a differencewhere it doesn't have to be so painful.right. it's a delicate topic in general. anything that can bedone to make it easier from a

day to day standpoint, you know,we're always in favor of. nikki, something very importantis health insurance and if it's covered.yes. can you tell us about that?yeah, most insurance providers will cover intimate cathetersbut what's really exciting is you can have lofric, which isthe superior clinically proven product, the most documentedcatheter in the world, and it's a no extra cost to yourhealthcare insurance. and when your catheterizing up to 2,000times a year, not only is

bladder health important butit's vital to keeping healthcare costs down.and doctor, i really do applaud patients today being their ownadvocates. it's really come a long way. yeah, there's veryimportant to realize that, especially with medicalproducts, the generic prescription, like a genericmedical tablet is not the same thing as generic medical deviceand i'm always encouraging patients to be aware of whatdevices we're recommending and make sure they're continuing touse what's what we're writing

for because it's a bigdifference between a generic medical deviceand a trade medical device. and i'm really looking forwardto speaking now with our next guest.i want to thank you so much for the information.thank you very much. doctor thank you so much.really appreciate your time. and when we return, we are goingto meet two remarkable young people who've met life'schallenges head on. living proof that great attitude and greattechnology together can and do

produce great things.more, when the balancing act returns. stay right there. (singing)i got cast on the glee project. i'm entering a reality tv showand this is my real life. (singing)welcome back everyone. we're joined by two remarkable people,ali stroker and jessie billauer. so accomplished and catheterusers as well. good morning. thank you so muchfor joining me. thank you.now, i know both of you are

patient ambassadors forwellspect. tell me what lead up to that ali?i was in a car accident when i was two years old which left meparalyzed from the chest down and i have a spinal cord injury.and you jesse? i actually got hurt surfingright before turning professional.it's just so amazing how this injury that you both endured hasnot stopped you. you've done so much and i want all our viewersto know. i mean you are an actress, you're a singer, tellme everything you've done.

i started singing when i was 6years old and last year, i had the opportunity to be on theglee project and glee. and that really changed my life and ireally feel like i am following and achieving my dreams.that's great. and breaking news here, because jesse, is stillsurfing. jesse i'm going to show some pictures of you andjust tell me, my goodness, it's amazing that you still do this.yeah, you know, i grew up surfing since i was 9 years old.and got sponsored when i was 12, traveled around the world andthen at 17, i ended up breaking

my neck and you know, i wantedto be pro surfer so instead of doing that i started anorganization called life rolls on. where we take people withdisabilities surfing and skateboarding. we do it all overthe country, in florida, california, new jersey,virginia, north carolina, new york.good for you. and you know, we give them anopportunity to get that independence, that freedom. andthe program is called they will surf again, they will skateagain. and you know, it's a

beautiful feeling to give back.fabulous. and i know you are given backalso by being a patient ambassador to wellspect. tell meabout that and tell me about how you're very open about using acatheter and it's very important for you to do that.absolutely, i think it's essential to open up theconversation because there is a lot of fear and embarrassmentaround catheterization. and there are products out there. iuse the lofric sense and it's small and can convenient and canjust throw it in the front of my

suitcase or in my purse and itblends right in with my lady products and it's really made mylife a lot easier. and jesse, why has it made adifference for you to use this one?i use the hydrokit. and for me, it's just something that hasallowed me to continue doing to the things that i love withouthaving the complications of bladder infections which i hadbefore i used these products. so, i mean, this company hasobviously changed my life and to be able to give back to thecommunity and to let them know

about it, that's really whatmeans a lot. so, they don't have to go through the bladderinfections, the stay at home, not being able to do the thingsthat they love, so. and that's the one thing thatcomes to my mind when i think of catheter users, i think, oh mygosh, the poor, the infections, the antibiotics, and it's made adifference for you too. this lofric.yeah, it's made a huge huge difference. i used to have uti'severy month. oh my goodness.and on and off of antibiotics

and so switching over to lofricreally has changed that and made my life a lot easier.alright so what's on the agenda now?how high are the waves, jesse? yeah, i think right now, i thinkfort lauderdale is probably like 1 to 2 inches.oh that's nothing for you right? but you know, yeah.piece of cake. i wouldn't even do that.yeah. fishing.and you let us know when you are going to be on stage again?absolutely.

well, good luck to both of you.thank you so much for being here today. you guys are such greatrole models. really appreciate it.thank you. and good luck to you as well,ok? and of course if you want tofind out more about today's topic, visit us atthebalancingact.com that'sthebalancingact.com or log on tofacebook/thebalancingactfans