EXCLUSIVE: New technology giving active duty and vets a second chance at walking

AUGUSTA, Ga. - New technology is giving men and women a second chance at walking.

Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center is the only VA hospital in the southeast that's equipped with a new tool to help active duty servicemen and veterans with spinal cord injuries.

Each step John Rice takes he's closer to getting his life back. In December 2004, Rice was in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down.

"I always told my girls that not to worry about anything; daddy would always take care of them. I never thought they would be taking care of me," said John Rice, patient.

The diagnosis he and his wife Becky got from two different doctors wasn't what they wanted to hear.

"[Doctor's told my wife], your husband would never move or walk. I just looked at the doctor and said I would walk again," said Rice.

Rice tried therapy for five years, but only started to make progress with the help of a $300,000 machine called the Lokomat.

"It's amazing because I can just close my eyes and see him walk, even without that machine. I know it's going to happen," said Becky Rice, wife.

So how does this miracle machine work? The patient is suspended in a harness over a treadmill. Then the frame of the robot, attached by straps to the legs, moves the legs in walking motion.

"It's getting the signal from your brain to your nerves to the rest of your body to move and how to move," said John Rice.

"There's nothing like giving hope to someone who doesn't have it and isn't aware of what they can do and showing them it's not going to limit their life," said Alison Chestang, Physical Therapist.

That's what Chestang tries to show her patients; that with each step, they're closer to getting their life back. Something Rice and his wife know is just around the corner.

"We're going to take a walk on the beach without that wheel chair," said Becky Rice.

John Rice drives all the way from Alabama to receive therapy on the Lokomat. The hospital has had the technology for less than a year. So far four patients have been able to use it. One of them is now able to walk.

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