Isaac Schreurs races sprint cars and likes to downhill ski. "Not even scared" is his personal motto.
This week, the 24-year-old walked down a long hospital corridor in Minneapolis as his mom and girlfriend cheered him on. A TV crew captured the event. Afterward, Schreurs described the experience as exhausting and overwhelming.
It was the first time the Sioux Falls, S.D., race car driver has taken a walk since a motocross accident 10 years ago left him paralyzed from the chest down. On Thursday, he came to the Twin Cities to test-drive a new medical exoskeleton that helps paralyzed patients walk on their own.
"It's definitely a workout, for sure," he said, sweat shining on his forehead early in the training. "I'm a little tired. I haven't stood up this long in a while."
Schreurs went to the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in south Minneapolis, one of two centers in the state certified to screen potential patients for the ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton. Regions Hospital in St. Paul has been screening ReWalk patients since May, and Courage Kenny started this week.
The ReWalk machine is the only personal exoskeleton approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help patients walk in community settings. The battery-powered device is made by ReWalk Robotics of Marlborough, Mass., and was approved by the FDA about a year ago.
The 50-pound machine consists of two mechanically driven legs that join at the hip, with a seat that folds up when the user stands. A wrist-worn controller switches between walking and sitting modes, but the machine strides and turns by sensing how users shift their weight.
To be eligible to use a ReWalk machine, the FDA says patients should be able to stand using an assistive device like a standing frame and be strong enough to manage the crutches that are required for support while walking. New users typically need 30 to 40 sessions with a physical therapist in the hospital before taking one home.