GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – An Air Force veteran that has spent nearly 30-years as a paraplegic is getting a second chance to walk with the help of some new technology.
Dean Juntunen has lived an active life since a near death experience.
“I was an ICBM missile launch officer in the Air Force and that’s when I had my accident,” he says. “I was removing a rope swing from a tree and the branch broke off, I dropped about 30 feet and broke five vertebrae and crushed my spine in two spots.”
That has forced him into a wheelchair, but hasn’t kept him from doing what he loves.
“91 marathons, paddling all the Lake Superior Coastline in my kayak,” he says. “I’m also involved in the community a lot.”
But, he’s hoping the wearable exoskeleton robot will allow him to do even more.
“I decided to give it a try, the VA was doing a research project and asked if I wanted to be a guinea pig, its been fun,” says Juntunen. “I like it more than I thought I would.”
Zach Hodgson, a Trainer for the Milwaukee Veteran Affairs Center, was inside Lambeau Field with Juntunen on Tuesday helping him try out the robot.
He says the national study originally began with ten sites, but was quickly expanded to fifteen locations.
“The idea behind the study is that they go through a screening phase where they go through a lot of testing and measures, ” he explains. “Then the participant takes this home for four months and the idea is to see how much people are using these at home.”
Juntunen says he’s excited to use the robot for exercise purposes and thinks he’ll incorporate it into his daily routine.
If you know a veteran that could benefit from the study click here.
