SAN ANTONIO – A revolutionary piece of rehab technology is helping spinal cord injury patients walk again.
A young man in San Antonio calls the technology a miracle.
In the face of catastrophe, 22-year-old John McMillan keeps a smile on his face.
On Aug. 19, a commercial lawn mower accident almost left him paralyzed.
"It came down on me and folded me completely in half," McMillan said.
Several vertebrae were shattered and his spine was mangled.
It was Dr. David Jimenez, the University of Texas Health Science Center neurosurgery chair, who was able to work magic on McMillan's back in surgery.
"Time was of the essence, and being a level 1 trauma center, we were able to take him right into surgery," Jimenez said.
McMillan was then transferred to Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital, in San Antonio.
"When I got here all I had was movement in my left toes," McMillan said.
Then, just two weeks later, a piece of cutting-edge technology called the Ekso Skeleton arrived and everything changed for McMillan.
"I got in it and started walking with it. The first day alone I did 847 steps, so it was a huge difference," he said.
The machine supports him but also teaches him how to walk. McMillan has become so good at using the machine, all his therapists have to do is press a red button on a remote twice. The machine takes his first right step for him, and then the rest he takes all on his own.
McMillan says without the machine he would never be able to walk on his own, which he can now do without the Ekso Skeleton.
"I'm absolutely ecstatic. My progress is honestly overwhelming. It's nothing short of miraculous," McMillan said.
A miracle, of course, is just one more reason to smile.
It is very rare to see the type of Ekso Skeleton machine McMillan is training on. It has only been around for a couple of years. They're only approved by the Food and Drug Administration for rehab, but doctors hope soon, similar machines will be ready for use in patients' homes.