Robotic Exoskeleton Gives OhioHealth Patient a Second Chance to Walk

On a September evening in 2021, Chillicothe resident Shane Gozy was in a devastating motorcycle accident. Doctors told his family he likely wouldn’t survive the night.

“I had 46 injuries, 16 surgeries,” Gozy told ABC6. “Was in the hospital for three months, was on blood dialysis, collapsed my lungs. I was in pretty rough shape.”

For a long time afterward, survival alone was the victory. Gozy was paralyzed from the waist down, and the idea of walking again seemed out of reach. Yet nearly four years later, he is defying expectations by taking steps again, thanks to an advanced robotic exoskeleton and OhioHealth Rehabilitation Services in Circleville.

The device, made by Ekso Bionics, is a wearable frame that supports and assists movement, allowing people with paralysis to stand and walk. Gozy is one of fewer than 100 people in the United States approved to use the technology at home.

“It’s a full body workout,” Gozy said. “It especially works my core. It’s challenging and a lot of work. It’s a lot on the support person too, because she has to kind of lift and push. But this thing is a blessing with everything. The more you do it, the better it can help your body. I try to do it as much as possible.”

Medicare covers the cost of the device but approval requires intensive training. For Gozy, that training happened close to home.

“After he did the initial trial, he did have a training period here with us in therapy,” OhioHealth physical therapist Liz Ritts told ABC6. Ritts, along with colleague Becca Herold, worked directly with Gozy and his parents.

“We taught him how to take it on and off, how to use it safely, how to be ready to take it home and be independent. So it was both him and his mom and dad who went through training procedure here to make sure they're safe to use it at home,” Ritts said.

Now Ritts and Herold are fully certified to train other patients on the Indego exoskeleton. That certification establishes OhioHealth Berger Hospital in Circleville as a local training site, eliminating the need for new patients to travel to further facilities.

Since March, Gozy has logged more than 2,500 steps using the exoskeleton. Each one, he said, feels like a gift.

“Just the other day, me and my dad was outside walking, and my little dog was just following me around, barking,” Gozy said. “My dog has never seen me walk in four years. Just that alone is amazing. The freedom, the capabilities, the healing aspect.”

Walking upright helps with joint and bone strength, improves cardiovascular endurance and reduces muscle spasms. It also provides something harder to measure: a sense of hope.

“My ultimate goal would be to walk down Cincinnati Boulevard once again, to be able to stand in the Bengals stadium again,” Gozy said. “I have aspirations with this thing.”

His mother, Angela Thacker, said watching her son’s progress has been emotional. She remembers the phone call no parent wants to get and the long nights by her son’s side in the hospital.

“There were many injuries, and he was on dialysis, and he was on a ventilator,” Thacker told ABC6. “I don’t even think you could really process how it was at the moment. You didn’t really have time to have emotions.”

But seeing her son walk again is a moment she’ll never forget. “A bunch of us here and watching him walk in it the first time was just overwhelming,” she said. “There were so many tears, and it was just exciting and beyond words. I'm very proud of him. So proud of him.”

Gozy hopes to use his journey to raise awareness of what’s possible for others living with paralysis. Until then, he’s focused on every step forward.

“I hope to be an advocate for people that don't have opportunities and are less fortunate,” he said. “I hope that one day everybody can have access to this technology. There's advancements out there.”

To learn more about rehabilitation services at OhioHealth, click here.