Paralyzed Olympian Van Dyken-Rouen Takes First Steps With Bionic Legs

Barry PetcheskyBarry Petchesky|published: Thu 21st August, 16:47 2014

Six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen severed her spinal cord in a freak ATV crash back in June, and was paralyzed from the waist down. Her future prognosis isn't yet clear, but this is a huge, huge victory:

With the aid of a powered orthosis, or exoskeleton, Van Dyken-Rouen was able to stand up for the first time since her injury 11 weeks ago.


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And she did more than just stand:

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When Van Dyken-Rouen was discharged from the hospital earlier this month, she declared, "I'm a better person than before the injury."

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