It’s amazing what technology can do these days! Wesley Smith posted an article about “ReWalk” last week. It’s basically a wearable robotic suit that can help paraplegics stand and walk. The ReWalk is in clinical trials in Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Centre and will soon be used in trials at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Pennsylvania.

I’m not sure how practical this would be for daily use for someone like me, but it would be cool to try out! Here’s a video:

I mostly use standing as a means of exercise more than anything else. Shortly after my accident I got leg braces that allowed me to both stand and “walk” with a walker.

It was an awkward kind of walking. My knees were locked straight and I just sort of swung my hips and threw my legs out in front of me one after the other (the guy in the picture here with me is Mark Kuhn from Columbia, MO who designed the braces together with a local paraplegic):

I tried to use the braces a couple times a week just as an opportunity to be in a different position and exercise some different muscle groups and I really enjoyed it. But after a while it became a little difficult to keep up with since I needed an extra person around to help me get up into a standing position and then back down again.

These days I use a standing frame with a leg gliding feature. With all the hardware around me I don’t quite get the “feel” of standing as I did with the leg braces (which don’t fit me anymore), but I do get a good workout.

There are some awesome products out there for people in wheelchairs. Some of my favorite new finds are these more independent beach wheelchairs: The Tremor and The Beach Cruzer. Watch a video of the Beach Cruzer here.