When Senior Chief Jesus Fernando Ruiz, a Navy Veteran, was injured in the line of duty on January 1, 2014, he thought the world he knew was over. Like many veterans facing life-changing injuries, Fernando believed he would have to adapt to a completely different way of life. 

But thanks to exoskeletons developed by Ekso Bionics – wearable robotic suits which aid paralyzed and injured individuals in walking again – Fernando’s story is one of hope and resilience. SoldierStrong’s pioneering partnership to bring Ekso Bionics’ exoskeletons to veterans nationwide has allowed even more veterans to experience that same hope and resilience as Fernando.

“I felt normal again,” Fernando recalls about the first time he used Ekso Bionics’ exoskeleton.  “Like I used to before my injury.” 

Since 2005, Ekso Bionics has been pioneering the field of robotic exoskeletons, developing wearable technology that augments human strength, endurance, and mobility. Their Indego Personal and Indego Therapy devices have helped thousands of people with paralysis take millions of steps that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

Since 2013, SoldierStrong has been proud to donate Ekso Bionics’ cutting-edge exoskeleton suits, we’ve dubbed “SoldierSuits,” to Veterans Affairs medical facilities and individual veterans.

In April 2023, SoldierStrong and Ekso Bionics celebrated a significant milestone when SoldierStrong donated its 30th robotic exoskeleton to a Veterans Affairs medical center. The Ekso Indego Therapy device was donated to the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, marking ten years of collaborative efforts to transform veterans’ lives.

“We are honored to join forces with Ekso Bionics to provide revolutionary technologies and innovative advancements to improve the lives of veterans and their families at no cost,” said Dr. Chris Meek, Co-Founder and Chairman of SoldierStrong. “Exoskeletons bring much needed rehabilitation support to our valued veterans enabling them to achieve mobility freedom that they deserve.”

The Ekso Indego Personal exoskeleton is more than just a medical device – it’s a gateway to independence. As the lightest commercial exoskeleton available, it features a modular quick-connect design that allows users to put it on and take off without assistance. This innovative engineering makes it particularly valuable for veterans like Fernando, who uses it not just for rehabilitation but for daily activities that restore dignity and independence.

“The biggest purpose for it is rehab, like walking around,” Fernando explains. “I have used it to stand up in front of the microwave and wash my dishes or stop right in front of my refrigerator and actually reach stuff from above. I can now reach my cabinets and the plates, so I pretty much do things that I couldn’t do before while standing up in the machine.”

Perhaps the most powerful testament to the technology’s impact comes from Fernando’s personal life. The 51-year-old Navy veteran, who served from 1993 to 2016, found that the exoskeleton didn’t just restore his mobility – it restored precious moments with his family.

“I have a five-year-old son and the first time he saw me walking with the exoskeleton he was like, ‘Hey, Papi, you can walk, Papi,’ and I was like, ‘Yes!’ And you know, seeing him all excited, just drives me. You know, being able to walk again pushes me towards doing more and more.”

Fernando’s experience with the Ekso Bionics team in San Antonio demonstrates the comprehensive support that makes this partnership so effective. As one of the first veterans to use the exoskeleton at his VA facility, Fernando worked alongside the Ekso Bionics team as they trained their robotics clinic physical therapists.

“It took a few minutes to get used to it because I was afraid I was gonna fall,” Fernando remembers the first time he used the exoskeleton. “I mean it had been so long that I hadn’t been able to walk and then all of a sudden just walking assisted by the exoskeleton was just kind of like a scary thought, but once I took a few steps, it was just like riding a bicycle.”

The partnership between SoldierStrong and Ekso Bionics represents more than just the provision of medical devices – it embodies hope for the future. 

This progress would not be possible without the unwavering commitment of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its dedicated team of therapists. The VA’s memorandum of understanding with SoldierStrong has been instrumental in ensuring that cutting-edge technologies like Ekso Bionics’ exoskeletons are accessible to veterans nationwide. Beyond the technology itself, it is the expertise, encouragement, and tireless efforts of VA physical therapists that truly bring these devices to life for the men and women who use them. Their hands-on guidance and personalized care play a critical role in helping veterans like Fernando safely adapt to the exoskeleton, regain confidence, and achieve milestones that once seemed impossible.

As Fernando puts it, “When there’s technology that allows you to do what you used to do before, which is walk, it’s awesome. It opens possibilities.”

Robert Reeder, Associate Director at the VA Augusta Health Care System, emphasizes the transformative nature of this technology: “These clinically proven robotic exoskeleton devices enable our nation’s heroes to stand and walk again. Specifically, Ekso Indego Therapy’s lightweight, modular design and slim profile compatible with most wheelchairs make it a game changer for many paralyzed or disabled veterans.”

As SoldierStrong continues to work with Ekso Bionics, the organization remains committed to its founding principle: ensuring that revolutionary rehabilitation devices are available to every veteran who needs it. 

Through stories like Fernando’s, we see that the impact of this partnership extends far beyond the technology itself. It’s about restoring dignity, independence, and hope to those who have sacrificed so much for our country. It’s about a father being able to stand tall in front of his son. It’s about veterans reclaiming not just their mobility, but their future.

As Fernando’s experience demonstrates, sometimes the most profound transformations begin with a single step – and thanks to SoldierStrong’s partnership with Ekso Bionics, that step is possible for veterans across the country.