Chloë Angus Fashion meets exoskeleton technology By Mel Padmore
A life of glitz and glamour , strutting down runways , gracing red carpets , and jetsetting across the globe . That was Chloë Angus ’ world . She is the founder of Vancouverbased Chloë Angus Design , a fashion company that celebrates Indigenous art and culture in Canada through its sustainable , collaborative collections . But in June 2015 , her life took a drastic turn . On that fateful day , after what she thought was just a minor ache from a pinched nerve , she found herself unable to use her legs . “ I had gone out for a run one afternoon and limped home because my back ached ,” she said . She drove herself to the hospital and within a 24-hour period , doctors gave her the grim news : she would never walk again . A rare benign tumor caused bleeding into her spinal cord and she became a T10 paraplegic . “ It blew me away , that was a pretty
Chloe wearing the exoskeleton
shocking moment and I just remember thinking , oh no , this isn ' t conducive to my lifestyle , this isn ' t going to fit with what I do .”
Learning about the secondary health complications of living with a spinal cord injury and in particular living in a wheelchair was frightening . “ Being seated and sedentary comes with a long list of health complications that is likely to shorten my life ,” Chloë said . “ Pressure sores , muscle atrophy , bone density loss , complications with bladder functions , circulation , nerve pain , mental health . I mean , the list just goes on and on and that ' s what scared me the most about what I was facing .” However , she firmly believed there was a solution somewhere . Chloë turned to Google and searches led her to an article in Popular Science Magazine about exoskeleton technology , which promised to help paralyzed individuals walk again . She excitedly told her distraught family to stop worrying and order one for her from Amazon , thinking she would be able to get back to her glamorous life in no time “ and I ’ ll start to walk again next week ,” she chuckled . “ Little did I know that this technology
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