Today, My Son "Walked" For the Very First Time With the Help of Trexo Robotics!

Those who have been following this blog and have read my book, Embracing Disability This Ability, already know that James, my son with cerebral palsy, could not talk nor walk and can't even sit up by himself without the seat belts and harnesses on his wheelchair and car seat. But, despite James' limitations, our family continues to find ways in making his life better. We also keep praying and hoping for further signs of development on how he communicates and moves. 

seeing James walk used to be just a dream

Since we moved to California in November 2017, James is still yet to have physical and occupational therapy services due to several factors, one of which is his transition from child to adult under the state's health care services system after he turned 21 last September. While we patiently wait for things to fall into place, I actively seek connections with organizations and caring individuals who have the heart to help the special needs community.  

Last week, Canadian-based Trexo Robotics announced that they will be coming to Los Angeles for two days to allow mobility-challenged kids try their awesome device. I have been following their posts on Instagram for quite a while now and find inspiration in the stories of children who are being helped to walk using Trexo's enabling technology.

Thank you so much, Manmeet, Rahul, and Dina for
giving James a chance to try the Trexo!

Without knowing where exactly they will be in LA, I resolved to bring James to them if they could give him a slot for a trial. I reached out to the Trexo team via direct messaging and got a call from COO Dina Nikitina on the phone who asked me a few questions. She then informed me the next day that they can accommodate us for January 24th at 10AM.

Early this morning, my husband, James, and I traveled 34 miles to Hawthorne where NAPA (Neurological and Physical Abilitation) Center is located. There, we met Dina as well as Trexo Robotics founders Manmeet Raggu and Rahul Udasi (read the wonderful story on how they started Trexo, here) who patiently helped James get comfortable in the walker with the robotic attachments before they got him "walking" using controls on a tablet.

For the first time in his life, James was able to move by himself with the help of technology and, while I focused on taking pictures and videos, it took me a lot of effort not to start crying upon seeing my son beaming big smiles while he took 199 steps in less than 10 minutes!

In individuals like James who hadn't experience how to walk independently and whose legs most likely do not know the correct motions needed to do this activity, I believe Trexo's innovative technology would be a big help in training the muscles and the brain to remember stepping movements through practice and repetition.

cherishing this new milestone in #gideonjamesjourney

After this Trexo trial, my husband and I plan to look for ways on how we could lease, if not buy, the device so James could practice walking more until such time he could, hopefully, graduate to a simple walker. We'd sincerely appreciate it if you could help us pray about this. Just like in the very beginning when we started in this special needs parenting journey, my family and I will keep on dreaming more dreams for this young man who never fails to give us immense joy each and every day.