A 22-year-old woman who is paralyzed from the waist down can walk again thanks to a first-of-its-kind wearable device.
Caroline Laubach, of Macungie, Pennsylvania, is one of the first people in the world to benefit from Eve, the world’s first self-balancing exoskeleton — an external skeleton — which provides hands-free walking independence.
Laubach controls the exoskeleton with a joystick that allows her to walk and turn, go up and down stairs and bend up and down.
“It’s an opportunity that I never thought I was going to have again in my life,” Laubach told ABC News.
Laubach was 18 years old when she went into sudden heart failure and had a spinal stroke, which left her paralyzed from the waist down.
After spending two weeks on life support and undergoing a heart transplant, Laubach returned to her normal life, but with the use of a wheelchair.
“It was hard at first. I don’t think I really accepted this as being my life for the first two years,” Laubach said of her paralysis. “I think the biggest thing that helped me accept that was finding community in a space where disabled people are not an afterthought.”
Laubach has been able to use Eve thanks to its maker, Wandercraft, a global robotics company whose mission is “developing the next generation of mobility solutions to restore walking ability both at home and in rehabilitation,” according to its website.
Laubach said that in addition to giving her independence, Eve has given her a new appreciation for being able to interact with people.
“I’m so used to looking up at people in my day to day, and it’s nice to be able to talk on the same level,” she said. “It’s those little, simple moments that you really miss the most.”