Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANDY - Travis Jepperson is taking steps that could be huge strides for all paraplegics in Utah.
"The main enemy is gravity," said Jepperson, who lives in Heber.
A new leg brace called the C-Brace, manufactured by Ottobock with technology typically used on amputees, can now help a paralyzed man walk and a father hold his children.
The accident still haunts him.
"When I woke up, I was paralyzed," Jepperson said.
In 2004, Jepperson was riding as a passenger on a four-wheeler when he and his friend hit a car. It was serious. During surgery to repair his heart, he was deprived of oxygen for more than 50 minutes. He ended up losing all the feeling in his legs.
Fast-forward to a winter day in Sandy. There, at Neuroworx, he stood wearing new leg braces, hands outstretched. "Good center of gravity," he said.
He has gradually gotten some of the feeling back, and all of his muscle function, except for in his feet. While he can get around with regular leg braces, he has taken falls and hard hits that have landed him in the emergency room.
The C-Brace would function more like his legs before the accident, helping him do "just the simplest things, like backing up to a chair and sitting down, or walking down a set of stairs, just all of the little things we take for granted," he said.
But they're expensive — $150,000 — and insurance doesn't pick up the cost. The Jeppersons have raised close to $62,000, much of it from generous strangers.
"We get letters in the mail with, 'Good luck, Travis deserves it.' We have no idea who they're from," said Lindsay Jepperson, Travis' wife.
Jepperson only has 30 percent nerve function in his legs, but with the new computerized, high-tech knee joint, he'll be able to navigate uneven terrain, even go up and down the stairs.
David Hill, an orthotist, has been working with Jepperson since the accident. He said the C-Brace would be a game-changer. Not only for Travis, but for paraplegics everywhere. It's the first time in Utah that a patient who has lost leg function has been fitted for the new technology.
"So if he speeds up his walking, slows down his walking, steps on uneven terrain, the braces are going to know what's going on and they're going to keep him safe," Hill said. "They're not going to let his knees buckle and let him fall."
Lindsay Jepperson has been by her husband's side, helping him every step of the way. She wants to make his wish come true, "that he's able to play with our kids and do more with our kids and be the person he wants to be," she said.
Standing and holding his children, and knowing that he won't fall, is all this father wants.
"It would melt my heart," Travis Jepperson said.
If you'd like to help, visit gofundme.com/v8c529dg.
