{"id":135445,"date":"2024-09-25T18:17:40","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T22:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=135445"},"modified":"2024-09-25T18:17:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T22:17:40","slug":"good-shepherd-serves-as-training-center-for-rewalk-personal-exoskeleton-robotics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=135445","title":{"rendered":"Good Shepherd Serves as Training Center for ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton Robotics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kathy Bielski (right) walks with Good Shepherd Physical Therapist Nicole Brennan (left) providing guidance during a recent ReWalk exoskeleton training session at Good Shepherd\u2019s Hyland Center in Allentown. (photo from Good Shepherd Rehabilitation<\/a>)
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ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0Kathy Bielski hasn\u2019t walked on her own since 2010. A nurse, wife and mother of three, Kathy fell through her home\u2019s attic floor and suffered a spinal cord injury.<\/p>\n

Yet, Kathy hasn\u2019t given up hope of walking on a regular basis, including in her own home \u2014 and that personal drive brought her to Good Shepherd Rehabilitation to pursue the dream.<\/p>\n

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation serves as an official training center for ReWalk Exoskeleton, a personal robotic device for home and community use that allows users to walk, as well as ascend and descend stairs and curbs.<\/p>\n

A leading user globally of several types of exoskeleton technology for spinal cord injuries, stroke, brain injuries and other neurologic or congenital conditions, Good Shepherd is designated specifically to train users with spinal cord injuries like Kathy to bring the ReWalk technology home and use it safely.<\/p>\n

Interested users must meet specific criteria and complete a months-long program for personal ownership with ReWalk, which includes screenings, insurance verification, physical therapy evaluation and device training.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel so good. This would not have been possible years ago.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathy Bielski<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathy, of Breinigsville, Pa., first began ReWalk training at Good Shepherd in August 2024. Three times a week, Good Shepherd\u2019s trained physical therapists and physical therapist assistants guide Kathy through a comprehensive program to get her and her family ready for home use.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s encouraging,\u201d Kathy said during a recent training session at Good Shepherd\u2019s\u00a0Hyland Center for Health & Technology<\/a>, 850 S. 5th<\/sup>\u00a0St., Allentown. \u201cI\u2019m so focused on being able to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using crutches and a digital wrist communicator, which controls the exoskeleton, Kathy presses a button to stand and another button to initiate walking. The device then provides a consistent walking pattern, allowing her to move forward unassisted. Kathy recently learned how to scuff her feet against the ground, which tells the exoskeleton technology to stop walking immediately; scuffing is key for approaching stairs or doorways.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel so good,\u201d Kathy said in between working on scuffing and making turns. \u201cThis would not have been possible years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the device does a lot of work for her, Kathy still needs to build strength and endurance while walking in the device. It\u2019s a true physical therapy session and overall workout to train in the device, complete with getting up, walking, stopping, starting and stopping repeatedly \u2014 but it\u2019s one that Kathy enjoys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt hopeless, like I couldn\u2019t walk again,\u201d Kathy said. \u201cNow, when I get in the car, I feel like I did a workout. I feel my legs tingling.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a cognitive workout happening, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking about parts of my body that I haven\u2019t used in years,\u201d Kathy said.<\/p>\n

In a few weeks, Kathy graduates from training. Another motivation for Kathy is the hope that other people living with spinal cord injuries situations can witness her journey and use it to pursue their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who are newly injured \u2014 just showing them what the possibilities are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Good Shepherd\u2019s designation as an official ReWalk robotic exoskeleton training center, call\u00a01.888.44.REHAB<\/a>\u00a0(73422).<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:<\/p>\n

Mike Walbert
\nDirector, Marketing
\nGood Shepherd Rehabilitation
\nGood Shepherd Penn Partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathy Bielski (right) walks with Good Shepherd Physical Therapist Nicole Brennan (left) providing guidance during a recent ReWalk exoskeleton training session at Good Shepherd\u2019s Hyland Center in Allentown. (photo from … Continue reading Good Shepherd Serves as Training Center for ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton Robotics<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/exo.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=135445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/135446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=135445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=135445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=135445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}