Phoenix veteran walks wheelchair again thanks to robotic exoskeleton

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) – A Phoenix veteran injured in Iraq is now walking again after nearly a decade in a wheelchair – and he has big plans! US Army veteran Richard “Richie” Nieder suffered a spinal cord injury during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2013. On Monday, Nieder went home with a new exoskeleton from ReWalk Robotics that allowed him to stand and walk alone. The veteran is now planning to go on a cross-country road trip next year on a bike he specially constructed for himself.

Nieder was thrilled to take the ReWalk home with him. “Now I can go into the real world with it instead of just training and simulating it,” he said. “Now I’m the stand-up guy!” The veteran explains that the experience was more mental than physical. “After ten years of not running, it’s one of the most amazing feelings. You don’t forget how to walk, your brain always tells you that,” he said.

Nieder said he’s been building bikes since he was seven years old. He will be taking his new ReWalk in his sidecar for next year’s bike ride to Sturgis, Michigan with other combat veterans. “I’ll have legs and be able to walk with everyone instead of rolling with everyone!” he said.

Dan Bonaroti, a physical therapist and owner of Touchstone Rehabilitation, says Nieder is the first Phoenix veteran to take home a ReWalk through the VA. “He’s breaking new ground for our program, which has established ReWalk across the country, but in a way, Phoenix has been a leader in bringing ReWalk to them,” he explained. “It allows them to try it and actually see if it’s good for them.” If it’s a good fit for veterans, as in Nieder’s case, the VA can buy a ReWalk.

A box on the side of the ReWalk, called the Angle Sensor, detects when Nieder gets up and stands. The box then tells the other leg to walk, shifting Nieder’s weight from side to side, creating the walking motion. A clock initiates the movements, from standing to sitting and vice versa. Supports stabilize Nieder’s hips and knees, the powerhouse lies on his back. “He doesn’t necessarily feel the weight of the battery on his back because everything is adapted to his body and the robotic exoskeleton helps him, it takes away the impact of that weight,” Bonaroti said.

Nieder says his wife has been his driving force for the past decade and he is excited about his future. “It’s more than freedom. It’s complete independence, being able to be on your feet, being on an equal footing with everyone,” he said. “The greatest handicap is not my inability to walk, but my perspective. It was the mental side of it. Once I figured that out, I could just start moving forward and realizing that I can do anything anyone else is doing. I just do it a little differently.”