For many disabled people who can’t walk it’s not the most important thing. What’s important is being able to work, to socialize, to live independently. I’ve never walked well but I did, up until I started to fall over more than I stood up.
Until the age of 25 I was flying solo, walking unaided, not so much unaided towards the end. For over 10 years I’ve mostly got around using my mobility scooter and I’m old enough to not worry about that now. But didn’t think I’d get the chance to walk again.
It was in the summer that I became the BBC’s Disability Correspondent and one of our very first stories was on the technology helping disabled people to walk again, using a robotic suite called an exoskeleton. We pegged our piece to the World Cup opening ceremony, a night that saw paraplegic Juliano Pinto kick the first ball wearing the very latest technology, an exoskeleton that’s controlled by the wearer’s brain signals. The more I looked into it, the more I started to realize that even though I have muscular dystrophy, which basically means all my muscles are weaker than most, I might one day be able to give it a go.
Around this time we started making Learning to Walk Again for 5 Live. I wanted to find out what it was like for other people who like me, could once walk, but now can’t and along the way I had the pleasure of meeting two incredible people.
43-year-old husband and father Tony Morris worked in a car body repair shop, his beautiful girlfriend and now wife Gemma worked in the accounts department at the same company. One day in November Tony fell ill, he had contracted Pneumococcal Septicemia, a rare infection that led to severe blood poisoning. He fell into a coma where he stayed for six weeks. When he woke up he discovered he’d lost both his arms and both his legs. Before even thinking about the possibility of getting on his feet and walking again, Tony endured months and months of intense physio, he’s been training like Jean Claude Van Damme. Finally after all his hard work he began to learn to walk again.
Elizabeth Ashmore also had to learn to walk again. The student from Canterbury was in her first year of studying for a degree in graphic design when she had a stroke aged 20. Paralysing both her left arm and left leg, Elizabeth worked hard and learnt to walk once more. She still has her struggles with balance and has to wear a splint amongst many other battles she has daily, like not being able to put her make up on but she’s brilliant, fun, intelligent and has a hot boyfriend.
Finally I got the opportunity to have a go at walking, more unaided than usual and it was a really fun experience. It wasn’t like how I used to walk, so in many ways it felt quite alien to me. My legs hadn’t been that straight since 1995. Having my friends and family there made it quite special, they’ve seen my ability to walk change through the years so it was probably like the old days. What was quite unbelievable was how I felt afterwards. Standing for half an hour would usually be quite tough but it wasn’t. With my disability I have to spend hours stretching, I have to watch what I eat, stand as much as I can throughout the day, but never push it. The exoskeleton I used allowed me to do this, but safely and I’d not felt stronger at the end of the day for quite some time. That evening I stood and stretched on my own for the first time in years.
Exoskeletons are currently being trialed in NHS hospitals and are important in the rehabilitation of people with all different disabilities. The model I was trying is current in 12 NHS hospitals and is helping patients with their physical and psychological rehabilitation. I’m not sure I’ll be popping down the pub like Robocop but I have to admit, if I won the lottery, I’d buy one to keep in the house because I know it would keep me stronger for longer.
Hear Nikki using the exoskeleton on Phil Williams, Thursday 18 December 2014.
