A new device is changing the lives of people who are paralyzed. It is called the Rewalk and it was unveiled in Dallas this weekend. Rewalk can give people who were not even able to stand, the ability to walk again.
“The first time I stood up I felt powerful,” said Marcela Turnage, who has a spinal cord injury.
Turnage had not walked in 12 years after a nasty car accident left her paralyzed.
“It’s just amazing to walk again and do things in a different position,” said Turnage.
She is now able to walk again with the help of the robotic exoskeleton. Rewalk is the first and only FDA approved device of its kind and there's only four in Texas.
“We are super lucky to have Marcela here today,” said Kendell Hall to room of men and women bound to wheelchairs. “She is a very inspiring young lady.”
Hall is director at React, a spinal cord injury recovery gym. React now has one of the four Rewalks at their facility in Dallas.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“With this injury you’re in your chair all the time,” said Hall, who is also disabled at the legs. “To be able to be up and to be able to be walking around is just…you really can’t put any words with it.
The words are hard to find, but the experience of walking again is liberating.
“It has changed my life,” said Turnage. “It has given me a different perspective about life.”
The Rewalk allows a person to set their own pace as they get accustomed to walking again. The robotic exoskeleton costs about $70,000.
