Learning to walk again

AUSTINTOWN — Stacey Kozel stood up, extended her right hip, planted her foot and swung her left leg.

“I want you to visualize kicking a ball,” said Liz Hillen, an orthotist and prosthetist and clinical specialist for Ottobock, a German-based orthotics and prosthetics company. “That’s familiar to you, right?”

The 41-year-old former soccer player from Medina smiled in response as she bent her knee for the first time since March 2014 this afternoon.

Ottobock’s C-Brace will allow Kozel, who has paralysis in her legs caused by the auto-immune disorder lupus to actually walk instead of drag her legs – conserving her energy and improving her life.

After months of waiting for insurance approval, Kozel finally received her C-Braces and put them through the test at Western Reserve Orthotics and Prosthetics on Mahoning Avenue.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com