It was a graduation walk seven years in the making... In May 2016, Khalil Watson suffered a gunshot wound, causing a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Due to his injury, he was unable to attend his high school graduation and, instead, watched the ceremony from his hospital bed. His goal was to—one day—walk at his college graduation.

 

With the help of Sheltering Arms Institute’s Ekso Bionics robotic exoskeleton and two of his physical therapists, both of whom are APTA members, Khalil’s dreams came true as he walked across the stage to receive his associate degree in pre-social work from Reynolds Community College.