Have you ever hurt your back, injured your foot, or even a toe? Suddenly it is
difficult to move. Think about getting old. We're all gonna get older.
Arthritic knees, maybe a broken hip.
Eventually, mobility challenges are everybody's problem and the treatments
to help us move are stone-age - sticks and wheels. I'm talking a cane, a wheelchair.
But today there is something infinitely better, something revolutionary -
a technology that has the capability to move us beyond our physical limitations.
People think it's way in the future but it's not. It's here now. It's wearable robotic suits called exoskeletons.
My name is Chloe Angus. I am a fashion designer and exoskeleton activist.
In 2015 I had achieved the life I had always dreamt of.
I would sashay down runways and red carpets.
I met movie stars and media personalities, politicians and princesses.
I drank bubbly for breakfast and wore ball gowns to picnics. Married 15 years,
still madly in love, Gabe and I even had a miniature horse named Sunny.
I had no idea my life was about to take drastic turn. It was June, a typical
Sunday. I go for a run with Sunny and limp home, my right hip aching. A few
hours later the toes on my right foot went tingling, going numb. What would you
think? Strange, perhaps a pinched nerve. I drive myself to Vancouver General
Hospital thinking 4 hours to get through emergency and I'll be back
catching up at work, right. Unfortunately, that tingling creeps up both my legs
and I watch helplessly as my legs stop working. 24 hours later
the best doctor in the country tells me I am now paralyzed from the waist down
due to a rare benign tumor in my spinal cord. I hear him say I was probably born
with it. I hear the words "loss, function, acceptance". Struggling to keep my composure,
I hear that doctor. He looks me directly in the eyes and he says "You will never walk again."
I focus on the red Ferrari lanyard around his neck, thoughts racing.
This isn't possible. I was running yesterday. I drove myself
to this hospital. How many injuries to own that Ferrari? How often does he say "You will never walk again"?
Blood draining from my face, my heart tightening as I envision my life in a wheelchair
Shocking! I went from being a busy entrepreneur who ran a fashion design
company to not being able to get out of a chair. A few weeks later reality set in
I became aware of the serious secondary health complications of living in a
wheelchair - muscles atrophy and you experience complications with bowel,
bladder, circulation, pressure sores and lose bone density due to not weight-bearing.
Then there is the extreme pain caused by
sitting too long. You know how you feel after a 14-hour flight in coach?
Now imagine living in that airplane seat for the rest of your life.
When doctors prescribe you a fentanyl patch program to help with that pain, you know the world needs a better solution.
This is what drives me. It's simply unacceptable. We all deserve better options
My situation is rare but losing mobility is more common than you might imagine.
Do you know anyone with MS, Parkinson's or anyone who has suffered a stroke or
brain injury? Simply aging can result in the loss of mobility. Have you been to a
retirement home? Literally a traffic jam of wheelchairs and walkers.
So you see, at some point in life, mobility is everybody's problem.
That dark night, alone in my hospital room, I replayed the doctor's words: "You'll never walk again."
never walk again and I made two very important decisions: First, I refuse to
give up hope. In bad situations, you can always retain the right to remain
hopeful. No one has ever OD'd on to much hope! That's true. Being hopeful is
not denying your reality. Being hopeful is believing that nothing is impossible.
Armed with hope, I think the second decision was easy: I will not take this
sitting down. I will fight for mobility. I will walk again.
Desperate to get back to my studio, the fashion cycle waits for no one, I got on
Google where I found an article in popular science magazine about a new
technology, called an exoskeleton, that would help paralyzed people walk again.
It was a wearable robotic suit like in the movie Ironman.
The next morning I said to my husband "Honey just order me one of these
off of eBay and I will be back at work next week." Yeah. Turns out you can't buy
one on eBay. Hmm! A few months later at a rehab center, after much advocating for myself, I finally got to try an
an exoskeleton. Yep, that's me.
That doctor said "You will never walk again. He was wrong."
Wow, what a feeling the first time I put on that wearable robotic suit and walked
after so many doctors told me I would never walk again. It blew my mind and it
opened my eyes to what was possible ... possible with technology. Euphoric, I was
ready to walk right out of there. However, I quickly learned that exoskeletons were
very limited. The device I used could only move forward in a rudimentary,
robotic way, not allowing for natural walking gait or balance. It required arm
crutches and an attendant to use it. The device I used could not be used independently.
It it could not go down stairs or up curbs. Confined to the rehab centre, I could not use it in my daily life.
I knew the technology was amazing, it just needed to be improved. That was 2015.
I had no idea I would become an advocate for exoskeletons.
Remember that dark night in the hospital. Now I want to tell you about one of my brightest days. June 2019.
That morning, a high-profile client put on a ball gown I had designed. A vision of red silk, perfect fit and
proportion. It showed all of the skills I had honed in my years as
a fashion designer. I am proud of this dress.
That same day, I got to tie on a new outfit of my own - the next-generation exoskeleton that I
helped design. In the same year that we celebrate 50 years of Neil Armstrong's
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"
yes the first steps on the moon, I walked independently, no attendant, no arm
crutches, 6 small steps for Chloe Angus.
It will be one giant leap for mankind. This was a bright day. I felt successful back in
my career and independently I walked again. Today I am
here growing awareness plus advocates - people who will take a stand for
exoskeleton technology until all mobility challenged people can stand for
themselves. I am now working with 2 brilliant professors and a growing team
of engineers, researchers, students, investors, and industry leaders. Together
we are building the world's most advanced exoskeleton for rehabilitation
and personal use with hands-free operation and self balancing
capabilities, our exoskeleton will a radical improvement to the current
technology, one that will allow me and 80 million others that suffer from motion
disabilities to walk back into our lives with dignity and independence. With our
next-generation exoskeleton, one you will be able to buy online, more people
will experience what I have discovered - the positive effects of being upright
and moving. Bowel and bladder function improves, circulation increases and a
tingling energy runs through your whole body. Emotionally, I felt hopeful, inspired
and truly alive. My journey from ball gowns to wearable robotic suits has come full circle.
As a designer of fashion and now robotics, I envision a sleek stylish
robotic suit in custom colors making it cool to wear. You will feel confident in
the boardroom, at a cocktail party, or in your senior living home. Take a minute to
envision the future of your own mobility. Instead of being limited to a wheelchair
you now have options, options that allow you to walk anywhere. You could stand to
deliver a speech. With your exoskeleton you will feel equal again, eye to eye when you shake hands,
hug loved ones to your chest, maybe even walk down the aisle.
Options that provide both physical mobility and access to the world around you.
Canes, walkers and wheelchairs are not enough.
Remember, we walked on the moon 50 years ago.
We have the technology, all we have to do is apply it. Talk to your
friends family and government about the need for exoskeletons. Insurance and
healthcare providers must get on board and those that can should invest in
exoskeleton technology for all. In our lifetime, people of all ages and
abilities will walk again.