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As her students finished their online exam, Arlet Lara got up to make a cafe con leche. Her 16-year-old son found her on the kitchen floor. First, he called Dad in a panic. Then 911. “I had a stroke, and my life made a 180-degree turn,” Lara said, recalling the medical scare she experienced in May 2020 in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The stroke affected my left side of the body.” Lara, an avid runner and gym-goer couldn’t even walk. “It was hard,” said the 50-year-old mom from North Miami and former high school math teacher. After years of rehabilitation therapy and a foot surgery, Lara can walk again. But she still struggles with moving. This summer, she became the first patient in South Florida to get an implant of a new and only FDA-approved-nerve stimulation device designed to help ischemic stroke survivors regain movement in their arms and hands. Every year, thousands in the United States have a stroke, with one occurring every 40 seconds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of strokes are ischemic, often caused by blood clots that obstruct blood flow to the brain. For survivors, most of whom are left with some level of disability, the Vivistim Paired VNS System — the device implanted in Lara’s chest — could be a game changer in recovery, said Dr. Robert Starke, a neurosurgeon and interventional neuroradiologist. He also serves as co-director of endovascular neurosurgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where Lara underwent the procedure. The Vivistim Paired VNS System is a small pacemaker-like device implanted in the upper chest and neck area. Patients can go home the same day. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the stroke rehabilitation system in 2021 to be used alongside post-ischemic stroke rehabilitation therapy to treat moderate to severe mobility issues in hands and arms. Lara’s occupational therapist can activate the device during rehabilitation sessions to electrically stimulate the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain down to the abdomen and regulates various parts of the body’s nervous system. The electrical stimulation rewires the brain to improve a stroke survivor’s ability to move their arms and hands. Lara also has a magnet she can use to activate the device when she wants to practice at home. Her therapy consists of repetitive tasks, including coloring, pinching cubes and grabbing and releasing cylindrical shapes. After several weeks of rehabilitation therapy with the device, Lara has seen improvement. “Little by little, I’m noticing that my hand is getting stronger,” Lara said in September. “I am already able to brush my teeth with the left hand.” Since then, Lara has finished the initial six-week Vivistim therapy program and is continuing to use the device in her rehabilitation therapy. She continues to improve and can now eat better with her left hand and can brush her hair with less difficulty, according to her occupational therapist, Neil Batungbakal. Starke sees the device as an opportunity to help bring survivors one step closer to regaining full mobility. Strokes are a leading cause of disability worldwide. While most stroke survivors usually can recover some function through treatment and rehabilitation, they tend to hit a “major plateau” after the first six months of recovery, he said. Vivistim, when paired with rehabilitation therapy, could change that. Jackson Health said results of a clinical trial published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet in 2021 showed that the device, “when paired with high-repetition, task-specific occupational or physical therapy, helps generate two to three times more hand and arm function for stroke survivors than rehabilitation therapy alone.” The device has even shown to benefit patients 20 years after their original stroke, according to Starke. “So now a lot of these patients that had strokes 10 to 15 years ago that thought that they would never be able to use their arm in any sort of real functional way are now able to have a real meaningful function, which is pretty tremendous,” Starke said. Vivistim’s vagus-nerve stimulation technology was developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas’ Texas Biomedical Device Center and is being sold commercially by Austin-based MicroTransponder, a company started by university graduates. Similar devices are used to treat epilepsy and depression. For Lara, the device is a new tool to help her recovery journey. “Everything becomes a challenge, so we are working with small things every day because I want to get back as many functions as possible,” Lara said. Patients interested in Vivistim should speak with their doctor to check their eligibility. The FDA said patients should make sure to discuss any prior medical history. “Adverse events included but were not limited to dysphonia (difficulty speaking), bruising, falling, general hoarseness, general pain, hoarseness after surgery, low mood, muscle pain, fracture, headache, rash, dizziness, throat irritation, urinary tract infection and fatigue,” the FDA said. MicroTransponder says the device is “covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance with prior authorization on a case-by-case basis.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!Texas Sen. Ted Cruz discussed with ABC News President-elect Donald Trump's selections for his administration's Cabinet, the ongoing border crisis and President Biden's decision to pardon his son, Hunter. Cruz, a Republican, stated on Tuesday that following a conference with his fellow Senate Republicans, all of Trump's nominees for federal government positions will be confirmed. ABC News spoke with Cruz about Trump's controversial Cabinet picks. MORE: Trump's controversial Cabinet picks raise questions about lower ethical standards ABC NEWS: We're joined now by Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz. He's also the incoming chair of the Commerce Committee. Senator, thank you so much for your time tonight. CRUZ: Linsey, great to be with you. Thank you for having me. ABC NEWS: You've said that you expect all of President-elect Trump's picks to get confirmed. With regard to Pete Hegseth, in particular, the nominee for secretary of defense. Just today, as you know, multiple sources told ABC News that Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about the secretary of defense job amid the allegations swirling around him. Does that give you pause that Hegseth may not ultimately be confirmed? CRUZ: Well, listen, that'll be a decision ultimately that President Trump has to make. I will say Pete Hegseth, he's a decorated combat veteran. He served our nation. He's been deployed multiple times. He spent a lifetime fighting for our servicemen and women, fighting to defend our veterans. And I do think he has a clear vision for bringing the Defense Department back to its core mission, for bringing it back to supporting the war fighters, for focusing on preparing and being ready to defeat the enemy if necessary, and for moving in a way from a political agenda that detracts from its core mission. I think all of that is critical. I think that's, all of that is a priority for President Trump, and I think it's a priority for this country. Ultimately, President Trump's going to make the decision as to which nominees he puts forward. ABC NEWS: Let's talk about Kash Patel, of course, Trump's pick for FBI director. You've called him a very strong nominee. When Trump talked about making him deputy director in 2020, then-Attorney General Bill Barr opposed the move so much he said it would only happen, quote, "over my dead body." Patel has talked positively about the QAnon conspiracy theory. In the past, you said that he would shut down FBI headquarters. In his book, you made a list of members of the Deep State he wants to go after. Do any of these things concern you at all? CRUZ: Well, listen, I'll say a couple of things. No. 1, if you look at Kash Patel's background, he's been a senior intelligence staffer on Capitol Hill. He's been a senior intelligence staffer in the White House. He has been the chief of staff at the Department of Defense. He's been the deputy director of national intelligence. He's someone with deep background, in addition to being a federal public defender and also a prosecutor. So he brings a deep background to the job. But secondly, I will say the world and, in particular, the FBI and the Department of Justice are very, very different today than they were back in 2020 when Bill Barr was attorney general. And what we've seen for four years, tragically, has been the politicization and the weaponization of the Department of Justice and the FBI. And much of the criticism that is being directed at Kash Patel, it is not that he's not qualified for the job, but rather exactly the opposite, is that his detractors are afraid he will actually do what he is committed to doing, which is to clean out the political corruption that sadly has done real damage to the FBI. ABC NEWS: On your podcast, "The Verdict with Ted Cruz," you called the Hunter Biden pardon an absolute abuse of power. [President Joe] Biden, of course, had repeatedly said that he would not pardon Hunter Biden. Then he did exactly that. On the other hand, Trump pardoned his son-in-law's father, Charles Kushner, his former chief of staff, Steve Bannon, among others. He's also implied he may pardon Jan. 6 defendants. Of course, presidents have long had this right. But in your estimation, at what point does a pardon become an absolute abuse of power, as you call it? CRUZ: Well, listen, one of the clear ways it becomes an abuse of power where as here Joe Biden and the White House lied about it for a year. Joe Biden repeatedly looked in TV cameras and said, I will not pardon Hunter Biden. No, no, no. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, repeatedly said, no, no, no, zero chance of this happening. And as you noted on my podcast, "Verdict with Ted Cruz," I predicted a year ago, in January of this year, I said in December of 2024, Joe Biden is going to pardon Hunter Biden. I put the odds of that happening at 100%. And I said then and I still believe now Joe Biden was lying when he said that, Karine Jean-Pierre was lying when they said that. They knew they were lying and everyone listening to them knew they were lying. And I think that is a real problem when you are lying to the American people. In my view, this pardon for Hunter Biden, of course, it is a father caring for his son. But I think at its heart it is about Joe Biden protecting Joe Biden and not wanting investigation into influence peddling and selling favors that that Joe Biden and his family have made tens of millions of dollars over the years doing exactly that. ABC NEWS: Let's turn to an issue that many have called a crisis at the southern border. You yourself are from an immigrant family. You spent a lot of time looking at this issue, which, as you know, has plagued our country for decades. Americans have spoken loud and clear. They want the current system to be fixed. Why do we have so many people trying to enter the southern border? And what's your solution on Day One to help solve this crisis? CRUZ: Well, I think you're exactly right that this election, I don't think there was a single issue that was more important in this election than securing our border. Should we have a mandate from the voters to secure the border? Now, you asked, how do we do that? Here's the good news: We know how to do it because we did it before. When President Trump was president before I worked hand in hand with him to secure the border. And we achieved incredible successes in the final year of Trump's presidency. We achieved the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. We have done it before. We'll do it again. How did this crisis happen? This crisis was deliberate. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris caused the border crisis by three decisions they made the very first week in office. No. 1, they immediately halted construction of the border wall. No. 2, they reinstated the disastrous policy of catch and release. And No. 3, they pulled out of the incredibly successful Remain in Mexico agreement. And the result was we instantly went from the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years to the highest rate in the history of our country. Twelve million people have come in illegally under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Here's the good news, Linsey. Everything done through unilateral executive action can be undone through unilateral executive action. So I believe on Day One, on Jan. 20 of next year, President Trump will reverse those three decisions. He will resume construction of the border wall. He will end catch and release. And he will move to reinstate the Remain in Mexico agreement. And here's my prediction: We will see the numbers plummet and it won't take a year. It won't take six months. The numbers will plummet by January and February of next year. And then Congress will follow it up by legislating and providing serious funding to secure the border and to keep our community safe. ABC NEWS: Sen. Ted Cruz, have a lot more questions for you, but we're out of time. I hope you come back on the show with us. CRUZ: I look forward to it. ABC NEWS: Thank you.

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