Bastrop man uses robotic device to relearn how to walk after stroke

Bastrop man uses robot to relearn how to walk

A stroke last fall left 60-year-old Jim Carr of Bastrop unable to walk. He became the first, at any inpatient rehab facility, to use a new robotic gait training system to simulate different walking situations during his rehabilitation.

BASTROP, Texas - On November 14. 2022, 60-year-old Jim Carr had a stroke while driving on Highway 95 in Bastrop.

"I was driving, but luckily I pulled over to the side of the road, put (the car) in park and got out and walked to the back of my truck before I collapsed," Carr said.

A nurse who happened to be passing by turned around and stayed with him until paramedics arrived.

"Very lucky to be alive right now because of that," Carr said. "Very, very lucky."

Carr was rushed to St. David's Medical Center, where doctors told him he had had a middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke, which caused weakness on the right side of his body.

After spending four days in the ICU, Carr was transferred to St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital, here he began his road to recovery, which included relearning how to walk.

"'What do we have to do to get back to a normal lifestyle?' is what was mostly going through my mind," Car said. "I knew it would take a lot of work, and it has so far. I mean, we still have a ways to go, but we're getting there."

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INNOVATIVE HEALTH CARE

Carr became the first, at any inpatient rehab facility, to use a new robotic gait training system called "The Morning Walk."

It uses a saddle for weight support, foot plates and a virtual reality component to simulate different walking situations.

"So, we're able to get them up on the device," said Kasey Kihlberg, one of the physical therapists who worked with Carr. "It actually helps to bring them through that normal walking pattern, to retrain their brain and their legs to work together."

During Carr's three weeks at St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital, he had daily, one-hour sessions on "The Morning Walk."

"He was a go getter, and he was up for it, and he loved it and thrived on it," Kihlberg said. "Everything had more of a natural function, because you were mimicking going up a hill and walking on trails and things like that. Wasn't as easy to do on a treadmill, but this here was really neat the way this worked."

About a month after his stroke, Carr was using a walker. A month after that, he was walking with a cane, which he rarely needs to use now.

"It helped me get more comfortable with the idea of going up a hill and coming down, and walking across unleveled areas," Carr said. "It really made a difference for that. It helped quite a bit."

Carr also credits the staff, along with a strong support system of family, friends and coworkers, for his continuing recovery.

"Very fortunate, in that sense; I just feel very blessed," Carr said. "I'm fortunate to be alive. I could have died on the side of my truck, the way all that went. But luckily that didn't happen. Somebody turned around and helped me, and I wish I could find that person. But I haven't been able to do it yet, haven't had any luck."