ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Kathy Bielski hasn’t walked on her own since 2010. A nurse, wife and mother of three, Kathy fell through her home’s attic floor and suffered a spinal cord injury.
Yet, Kathy hasn’t given up hope of walking on a regular basis, including in her own home — and that personal drive brought her to Good Shepherd Rehabilitation to pursue the dream.
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.
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.
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.
“I feel so good. This would not have been possible years ago.”
Kathy Bielski
Kathy, of Breinigsville, Pa., first began ReWalk training at Good Shepherd in August 2024. Three times a week, Good Shepherd’s trained physical therapists and physical therapist assistants guide Kathy through a comprehensive program to get her and her family ready for home use.
“It’s encouraging,” Kathy said during a recent training session at Good Shepherd’s Hyland Center for Health & Technology, 850 S. 5th St., Allentown. “I’m so focused on being able to get it right.”
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.
“I feel so good,” Kathy said in between working on scuffing and making turns. “This would not have been possible years ago.”
While the device does a lot of work for her, Kathy still needs to build strength and endurance while walking in the device. It’s a true physical therapy session and overall workout to train in the device, complete with getting up, walking, stopping, starting and stopping repeatedly — but it’s one that Kathy enjoys.
“I felt hopeless, like I couldn’t walk again,” Kathy said. “Now, when I get in the car, I feel like I did a workout. I feel my legs tingling.”
There’s a cognitive workout happening, too.
“I’m thinking about parts of my body that I haven’t used in years,” Kathy said.
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.
“People who are newly injured — just showing them what the possibilities are,” she said.
To learn more about Good Shepherd’s designation as an official ReWalk robotic exoskeleton training center, call 1.888.44.REHAB (73422).