By: Maria- Paula

Maria- Paula

Khalil Watson, 25, will soon be among those privileged to walk across the stage at his graduation with the help of a wearable robotic exoskeleton that has enabled more than 125 million steps around the world.

Weeks before his high school graduation in May 2016, Watson was left paralyzed following a gunshot injury to his the neck that caused a devastating spinal cord injury. Instead of walking across the stage to receive his diploma from Highland Springs High School as he had planned, he streamed his graduation ceremony from a hospital bed.

On Monday, May 15, with help from two of his therapists at Sheltering Arms Institute, Watson will walk to victory and receive his diploma using cutting-edge robotic technology to walk across the stage, a walk seven years in the making. The event will take place at Siegel Center in Richmond.

“One of my goals is to be as independent as possible. Being able to walk across the stage will mean everything to me, especially since I wasn’t able to do so in high school. I can finally say all of my hard work has paid off,” said Watson.

Seven years after the injury, Watson has worked tirelessly to regain his mobility and independence by relearning how to breathe, eat, speak, and take care of himself.

Christina Smith, PT, DPT, NCS, physical therapist at Sheltering Arms Institute expressed joy in Watson’s progress through his hard work in coordination with her staff at the Sheltering Arms Institute.

“When we started therapy after Khalil’s injury, he needed significant assistance for any mobility. Now, he is progressively increasing the amount of movement he can do on his own. Every time I see him, he masters a new skill,” said Smith.

Another one of Watson’s goals was to continue his education. In 2019, he began working on his associate’s degree in pre-social work from Reynolds Community College. His passion in helping people has pushed him to earn his degree in social work. This fall, Watson plans to transfer to VCU to earn his bachelor’s degree and later master’s degree in the same field.

“Going through what I’ve had to go through and am still going through makes it easier for me to connect with people who are either going through a similar situation or worse,” added Watson.