Many people living with paralysis know exactly what it's like to spend every day in a wheelchair. For these individuals, life changed in an instant—a car accident, a sports injury, a dive that went wrong, an act of violence, or even a sudden spinal stroke. Doctors tell them that they will never walk again. As they struggle to adapt to life in a wheelchair, they think that the days of looking others in the eye and reaching high shelves are over. In essence, they lost much of their independence. But what if we can change the perception of what's possible?

In the PSA, you'll watch as one man pushes his manual wheelchair, stops, holds crutches, and suddenly stands as robotics enable him to take steps. He is wearing a robotic, battery-powered exoskeleton. But what matters most is that this man can now walk. The impossible no longer exists. 

A global leader in rehabilitation research, Kessler Foundation finds new ways to improve mobility and cognition in individuals with spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and other conditions. Robotics is just one of the techniques being tested by Foundation researchers to help individuals with spinal cord injury regain mobility. Research at the Foundation examines how walking with robotics, as opposed to sitting in a wheelchair, improves health so that individuals with paralysis will soon be able to stand and walk in their communities.