POV.How I’m Able to Walk as a Paraplegic

[00:00:00]Come to physical therapy with me and Opie.

[00:00:03]I am getting up and walking today, so first thing I got to do is put my shoes on.

[00:00:15]Are you so happy to be here?

[00:00:19]>> [laughter] >> The first thing I do is get situated into this harness, which gets attached to the walking machine itself.

[00:00:27]From there, they suspend me up into the air. As you can see, there's a treadmill underneath me. Once I'm up in the air, they bring down the robotic legs and attach them to my legs.

[00:00:38]This machine is called the Lokomat, and I love this machine for several different reasons. Since I'm unable to move my legs on my own, I rely on this machine to do 100% of the walking. One of my favorite features on this machine is you can control the body weight support. So, I walk with 50% of my body weight going through my legs, which helps strengthen my muscles and keep my tone.

[00:01:01]>> New Year's. All New Year's, but So, we start Is that where the area is?

[00:01:06]>> Mhm. Yeah, put it >> Once I'm completely strapped in, they will start the treadmill and I'll begin to walk. I'm only able to get on this machine once a week for about an hour.

[00:01:16]So, since I'm not walking every day, I'll typically walk in the air just to stretch out my legs before putting weight through them. Today, my legs were really fighting me, so my core was really tensed up pretty much the whole time I was on the Lokomat, which is a very uncomfortable feeling. I was able to walk for about 45 minutes, and then they lowered me back down to my wheelchair, and that was pretty much it.

[00:01:38]>> Wow.

[00:01:40]We can hear.

[00:01:43]>> Hi, Nick.