Alex took over our Blog to share her Trexo journey! We are honored that she took the time to share her thoughts and love her enthusiasm. Connect with her on Instagram, if you want to continue to follow her journey. And now, Alex takes over…
My Trexo journey started when I was selected to be a part of a Trexo study for three months. I was the first person in Alberta to take home a Trexo Robotic Walker for the study. I also have a regular pacer walker that I use but it is a lot harder to move. But with the strength that I’ve gained using the Trexo, walking in my manual walker is a lot easier. I have become stronger, and it has helped with knee pain and vertigo. The best part about using the Trexo is that I can walk independently and I can take more steps than I usually would. In my regular walker I can do about 50 steps before getting tired. In 1 Trexo session alone, I can now take 4000 steps. Since training with the Trexo, I have increased my steps in my manual pacer walker from 50 to now doing 200 meters at the Mount Royal University (MRU) running track. I love walking in the Trexo. I just attach my dog Kasper and hit the road.
When I began the trial, I started documenting my Trexo journey on my social media. Now I continue to document my story and my recent Trexo milestones. Being part of the study has helped me reconnect with some old friends which has been really nice. My first long walk was down my street – I got to the stop sign which was something I never could have done in my manual pacer walker. I got to see my neighbours wave at me when I walked past their houses. It was pretty cool. In the winter months, I went to my Community Centre to get my steps in and enjoyed talking to more people. I also love walking in the Mall – especially at Christmas. In my wheelchair, when I was at the mall, people hardly talked to me but when I am walking in the Trexo – people are interested in chatting with me about the device.
And I can see people and things in a totally different way – standing instead of sitting in my wheelchair – it’s amazing! I have also started a Trexo walking group in Calgary, we are called the Trexo Trekkers! We’ve met at a mall and at an outdoor park. I even did a Halloween walk in my Care Bear costume with my family!
My family and I have seen so many benefits because of using the Trexo. First of all it totally eliminated my chronic knee pain! It also relieved my dizziness and vertigo. Using the device has changed my life. Toward the end of the trial I was getting nervous that when I gave back the Trexo I would lose all my strength and was concerned that my knee pain would come back. But guess what? My Mom and Dad totally surprised me with a PINK Trexo of my very own! Can you believe it? They decided to get one for me specifically because of the pain relief. I was over the moon! I love my Trexo so much that I named it the Pink Panther. I am so excited to be able to keep up all my strength I have gained and get even stronger. Plus I don’t have to worry that my knee pain will return – the Trexo aligns my knee perfectly.
After that, some amazing things started happening. Opportunities came to me that I would never have been invited to, if it had not been for my Trexo walking and blogging. These include speaking at conferences about my Trexo experience at places like The Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute event, Mount Royal University, the University of Calgary RESTORE Network launch, and much more! I got to talk about how the Trexo has changed my life. How cool is that? Even the Calgary Herald news and CTV National News wanted to chat with me about my experiences. I am so grateful to have had these opportunities.
Every day I wake up so excited to walk in the Trexo because I am constantly making new gains. I often walk with my friends too – it makes it even more fun. Walking in the Trexo never gets boring. I really like how the motors help my legs move – it feels so good to be able to walk. My ultimate goal is 1 million steps. I have already taken over 300,000!
So, where will the Trexo take me next? Who knows! But one thing is for sure – this journey has been awesome! Not only has the Trexo strengthened me but it has also inspired me. I got to thinking about studying muscles and bones at university. So I went ahead and applied, and guess what? Out of only three spots available at MRU, I got one! This September, I’ll be starting my studies in Kinesiology, which is also called Physical Literacy.
So, there you have it, – that’s my Trexo journey so far. Can’t wait to see where I’ll go in my PINK Trexo! Feel free to follow along. My social media handle is TheAlexScoop on Instagram and YouTube.
Your friend, ALEX
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