Paralyzed Hiker Tackles the Appalachian Trail

It's easy for a small injury or nagging pain to leave you on the shelf for a while as a hiker, but when there's something you've dreamt of tackling for a years you won't let anything stop you.  That's the case for Ohio woman Stacey Kozel, who despite becoming paralyzed two years ago, is living her dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail thanks to a pair of computerized leg braces.

Kozel had always dreamed of covering the 2200 miles of the AT, but two years ago she lost the use of her legs when the disease Lupus attacked her spinal cord and left her legs immobile. Most people would've have accepted their fate and let the Appalachian Trail dream die, but Kozel isn't most people.

Earlier this year she was fitted with a pair of computerized leg braces, called C-Braces, that allow her to walk by giving and pulling tension to bend the knees.

It took a while to learn how to use the braces, but within months Stacey was on the trail and once again the AT was a reality. To see her maneuver over the roots and rocks, you'd never know Stacey was paralyzed or even that she's been on the braces for less than a year.

Stacey attributes her braces for allowing her the ability to walk, but thinks the never-give-up attitude that helps her along the trail, and she hopes that attitude will rub off on others, on the trail or in everyday life.

“I just hope if people see me out here hiking, they won’t give up,” she says. “If it’s something similar or something completely different, just don’t ever give up. We don’t know what the future holds.”

Stacey's journey is a shining example that the only thing really holding you back is yourself. The body is capable of doing miraculous things; things you never thought you could do. However, what is often the toughest thing for the body to over come is the brain. Stacey has demonstrated that with a positive attitude and a drive to succeed anything is possible.