{"id":7485,"date":"2026-04-05T15:07:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=7485"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:07:23","slug":"emotional-video-shows-woman-27-take-her-first-steps-in-a-decade-thanks-to-revolutionary-exoskeleton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=7485","title":{"rendered":"Emotional video shows woman, 27, take her first steps in a DECADE thanks to revolutionary exoskeleton"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Emotional footage of a woman taking her first steps in more than a decade thanks to a revolutionary exoskeleton has captured the hearts of millions.<\/p>\n

Jessica Tawil has been unable to move her legs or lower body since she was involved in a massive car crash in New Jersey<\/a>, USA, aged just 16.<\/p>\n

The smash, which occurred in November 2014, left Ms Tawil with a devastating injury to her spine and means she needs to use a wheelchair every day.<\/p>\n

Now a T6 paraplegic – meaning she is paralysed from the lower body downwards – the 27-year-old documents the challenges she faces with her devastating disability on TikTok<\/a>, where she has gained more than three million followers.<\/p>\n

And though she may never naturally walk again, Ms Tawil has been been able to use wearable exoskeletons, powered technology also known as exosuits, which allow paraplegics to walk.<\/p>\n

In a video that has since amassed more than 350million views, Ms Tawil captures the moment she takes her first steps since the crash.<\/p>\n

As the device lifts her to her feet, she gasps in disbelief: ‘Oh my God… ok, ok, ok.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moments later and overwhelmed with emotion, she pauses and through tears, says: ‘I’m sorry. Just give me a second.’<\/p>\n

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\"Jessica <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Jessica Tawil used an exoskeleton to take her first steps in more than a decade after being in a massive car crash that left her paraplegic<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But as she regains composure and continues forward, a smile breaks through as she reassures herself: ‘Ok, not bad. Not bad.’<\/p>\n

At the time of writing the clip has racked up more than 15million likes and 140,000 comments, with viewers rushing to leave emotional messages.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the moment in her post, Ms Tawil wrote: ‘I never thought I’d get to relive a moment like this again.<\/p>\n

‘What started as something terrifying turned out to be the experience of a lifetime.<\/p>\n

‘For the first time in ten years, I saw 16-year-old Jess again – so much of her still alive within me, yet shaped by everything I’ve lived through since. Different, yes – but stronger, softer, and more grateful than ever.’\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scientists and engineers have collaborated for years to advance exoskeleton technology, with the hope that it could be transformative for people with paraplegia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The devices are typically constructed from materials such as metal and carbon fibre, and are equipped with motion sensors that track the user’s movements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For individuals who cannot move their legs, exoskeletons interpret the user’s intent through their upper-body motion.\u00a0For example, leaning forward or shifting the hips can signal the device to initiate a step.<\/p>\n

Some models, such as the one used by Ms Tawil, also feature wrist-mounted controllers that allow users to direct movement. Others include buttons that enable the user to command the device.<\/p>\n

Researchers have highlighted a range of physical and psychological benefits associated with their use.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the Journal of Personalized Medicine, published in 2022, authors said: ‘The benefits of walking with an exoskeleton include strengthening impaired muscles, walking speed and efficiency, and secondary conditions after a (spinal cord injury), such as spasticity, bone density, lean body mass, muscle tone, pain, and changes in cardiovascular and bladder and bowel functions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Improvements in mood and mental state and overall impact on quality of life have also been reported.’<\/span><\/p>\n

For Ms Tawil, it gives her a chance to reclaim the part of her life that she lost in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

Previously recalling the night of the car crash, Ms Tawil claimed she was spending the evening at a friend’s house when men she did not know arrived with drugs and alcohol.<\/p>\n

In her TikTok videos, she alleges that she was kidnapped by them before being taken to an abandoned road and having her requests to go home repeatedly ignored.<\/p>\n

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\"Ms <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Ms Tawil regularly answers questions on her TikTok about life after becoming paraplegic<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘When we got to this road, the driver stopped the car and put his foot on the gas and brake at the same time, doing a burnout with his wheels,’ she told BuzzFeed previously.<\/p>\n

‘He lost control of the car and crashed into a tree.’<\/p>\n

Ms Tawil suffered whiplash, a head injury that exposed her skull, and a spinal cord injury as a result of the impact.<\/p>\n

‘Paramedics said that I lost the equivalence of a ‘Coca-Cola bottle of blood’ out of my head, and didn’t think I’d make it if they drove me to the hospital,’ she recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘So they drove me to a nearby soccer field where a helicopter airlifted me to the ICU.’<\/p>\n

After recovering enough to leave the intensive care unit, Ms Tawil spent seven months in rehab and is now back at home, where she is permanently wheelchair-bound.<\/p>\n

Much of her life has now changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When she goes to sleep at night, Ms Tawil uses her hands to position her lower body to push up out of her wheelchair and into bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She does not toss, turn or shift her position in the night.\u00a0The position she falls asleep in is exactly how she will remain when she wakes up.<\/p>\n

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\"Ms <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Ms Tawil was visibly overcome with emotion as she was instructed to turn the exoskeleton left<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

To get into a car, Ms Tawil has to carefully open the door and position her wheelchair next to the front seat. She uses a plank of wood as a bridge from her chair to the seat in the car.<\/p>\n

Ms Tawil said she has to be careful moving her body because she cannot feel pain from the waist down, meaning she may not know if she has injured herself.<\/p>\n

She, like many other T6 paraplegics, suffers with episodes of autonomic dysreflexia every day, a potentially fatal spike of blood pressure triggered by not going to the toilet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She describes it as her body ‘attacking’ her ‘because it is in complete confusion.’<\/p>\n

Ms Tawil also answers viewer questions on TikTok, though the most common ones appear to be about sex and if she could ever become a mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘If I engage in intercourse, I can not feel anything externally, I cannot feel anything internally,’ she said.<\/p>\n

However, the car accident did not affect Ms Tawil’s menstrual cycle and doctors have told her that she can still conceive a child.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If she does become a parent, she will not need any pain medication during childbirth as she won’t be able to feel it.<\/p>\n

Ms Tawil told BuzzFeed that she feels it is important to share her story and her struggles to educate others.<\/p>\n

‘Not many people know too much about paraplegics and their capabilities, so I wanted to be that light to inform, educate, and even entertain people,’ she said.<\/p>\n

‘I want people to know what it’s like to be paralysed… so that they can be a little bit more appreciative of what they have and remain humble.’<\/p>\n

She added: ‘A lot of people are discriminatory toward paraplegics and wheelchair users… this would give them a small taste of what it’s like.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emotional footage of a woman taking her first steps in more than a decade thanks to a revolutionary exoskeleton has captured the hearts of millions. Jessica Tawil has been unable to move her legs or lower body since she was involved in a massive car crash in New Jersey, USA, aged just 16. The smash,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[520],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hot"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}