Brooke Takes Steps With Help Of Technology

For many families, a child taking their first steps is a moment they imagine from the very beginning. For Brooke Hacker’s family, that moment came years later — and with the help of a remarkable piece of technology.

Fifteen-year-old Brooke, from Sketty in Swansea, has cerebral palsy and had never been able to walk. During a trial at Equinox Physiotherapy in Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, she used a robotic exoskeleton designed to help children practise walking.

With the device supporting her legs and helping guide her movements, Brooke managed to walk 812 steps.

For her parents, Andrew and Rebecca, seeing their daughter walking was something they had never expected to witness.

“You can’t put into words what it feels like to see your daughter do something you were told would never happen,” Andrew said.

The moment became even more special when Brooke’s four-year-old sister, Holly, was able to run alongside her.

Rebecca described watching the sisters together as “incredible” — a simple family moment that had once seemed impossible.

A major leap in physiotherapy

Brooke had already been attending physiotherapy for more than a year. According to lead paediatric physiotherapist Mia Martin Evans, she would normally take around 30 steps during a session.

The exoskeleton dramatically increased that number.

The technology, developed by Canadian company Trexo Robotics, is a motorised wearable system that can be adjusted to a child’s height, abilities and individual needs. It is intended to help children practise walking patterns that may be difficult to achieve through conventional therapy alone.

The device is designed for children with conditions including cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy and muscular dystrophy, as well as some children recovering from stroke or brain injury.

For physiotherapists, the potential goes beyond simply helping a child take steps.

As technology develops, therapists can also collect more detailed information about movement and progress. Artificial intelligence and improved data analysis could eventually help clinicians tailor rehabilitation programmes more precisely to individual children.

Hope — but also a difficult question

Brooke’s experience has highlighted both the possibilities of medical technology and the challenges of making expensive innovations widely available.

A Trexo exoskeleton costs roughly £40,000 to £50,000, according to its creator Manmeet Maggu. The device was developed after Maggu learned that his nephew, who has cerebral palsy, might never walk.

The technology is already being used in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and Singapore. Its trial in Wales represents an opportunity to explore what it could offer children in the UK.

But the price presents a significant barrier.

For Carys and Marc Bowen, whose three-year-old son Hopcyn has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, the experience was particularly emotional. Hopcyn was also able to walk using the exoskeleton during the short trial.

His parents had previously been told that doctors could not say whether he would ever walk independently or even sit up or speak.

Carys described the experience as overwhelming — but also bittersweet because the equipment was only available for a limited time.

Should access be nationwide?

Brooke’s parents believe children across the UK should have the opportunity to use technology that could make such a profound difference.

Their call raises a much bigger question: how should healthcare systems decide which new technologies to fund?

Medical innovation is advancing rapidly, but every new treatment or device comes with a cost. The NHS has finite resources, meaning expensive technologies have to be assessed alongside many other competing healthcare needs.

That makes evidence particularly important. Questions about long-term benefits, clinical effectiveness, safety and value for money will all play a role in determining whether technologies such as robotic exoskeletons could eventually become more widely available through the NHS.

More than 812 steps

The significance of Brooke’s achievement cannot be measured simply by counting her steps.

For her family, those 812 steps represented something much bigger: a moment they had once believed might never happen.

Her story also illustrates what can happen when physiotherapy and emerging technology work together. A robot cannot replace the dedication of a child, their family or their therapists. But it can provide new possibilities for movement and rehabilitation.

As medical technology continues to evolve, stories like Brooke’s offer a glimpse of a future in which innovative equipment could give more children opportunities to achieve things once thought impossible.

For Brooke, it began with a single step — followed by 811 more.