[At a high school graduation, students in caps and gowns sit together.]
[Text appears: Teays Valley High School, Columbus, OH.]
[Some students have decorated their caps.]
[A graduate shakes hands with a school official on stage. In the audience, a young man with glasses, Austin, watches.]
[Austin sits in a specialized chair with his feet in sneakers attached to the base of a walker. The chair is part of a wearable robotic exoskeleton.]
John Schemrich: That is great. [clapping]
[On a laptop, a 3D model of a custom joystick rotates.]
Austin Schemrich: The joysticks that we made acts like as if you took the controller apart, like a regular Xbox controller, and just grabbed the joystick aspect and, like, all the electronic stuff of it.
[At a desk, Austin uses an adaptive gaming controller.]
[Text appears: Austin Schemrich, Premier Health Patient.]
And we used Onshape, which is, uh, one of the designing softwares.
[Austin studies the design on his laptop.]
So then whenever you would plug it in, it would basically move like a regular joystick. I wasn't as open-minded before my accident as I am now. Like, I don't really take no for an answer.
[He sits in his powered wheelchair at his desk.]
t was definitely, um, a challenge to get here, but I didn't stop, so.
[A woman with pink-streaked blonde hair speaks.]
[Text appears: Andrea Green, Austin's Mother.]
Andrea Green: Austin is a very intelligent, sarcastic, funny, and I think very strong-willed person, um, who is, I think, still coming into the person that he's gonna become one day.
[Outside, Austin sits in his wheelchair.]
[An older woman speaks.]
[Text appears: Cindy Schemrich, Austin's Grandmother.]
Cindy Schemrich: Before the accident, he was willing to help do anything you ask him to do.
[Austin, in his wheelchair, gently pets a tiny kitten held by a young boy.]
I think that's a big thing with Austin. He cares about everybody.
Austin Schemrich: My accident happened April 26 of 2023. For me, I don't remember any of it. My mom picked me up from track. Some guy was basically speeding through traffic and went left of center and hit us.
[A photo shows the mangled front end of a crashed car.]
Uh, all of a sudden, I wake up in the ICU.
[In another photo, Austin lies in a hospital bed wearing a neck brace, with a tube in his nose.]
Cindy Schemrich: We knew there was an accident, and all that you could think of is, is he gonna make it?
John Schemrich: His injury with the, with the spine and stuff, the doctor's like, "I have to go in there and grind his spine down to get it back where it's supposed to be."
[A man in a pink shirt speaks.]
[Text appears: John Schemrich, Austin's Father.]
[A montage of photos shows Austin in the ICU, connected t ventilators and monitors.]
There was a lot of, lot of, you know, uncertainties. I mean, right out of the gate it was like, the percentage of him surviving the surgery was at, like, 50.
Andrea Green: I think [sighs] I realized his strength when we were trying to decide if he would be able to breathe on his own, and he wanted those tubes out of his throat and nose, and he wanted food, and he wanted ice cream. For a child to go through something like that, that dramatic, is very hard, I think.
[In a photo, Austin smiles while sitting up in a hospital chair, wearing a neck brace.]
Austin Schemrich: In the hospital, I definitely was a lot more, like, hopeful that I would be, like the accident never even happened.
[In another photo, he sits in a wheelchair outdoors.]
As time slowly went on, I slowly realized that that was not the case. [laughs] Like, I just had actually no hope that I would even walk for my graduation.
[An empty gymnasium is set up with rows of chairs for graduation.]
Cindy Schemrich: We worked hard for that, didn't we, darling?
Andrea Green: Yes, we did, didn't we?
John Schemrich: Mm-hmm.
[Austin's family helps him put on his graduation cap and gown.]
Andrea Green: Or is that you that worked hard for that?
Cindy Schemrich: I was gonna say, it wasn't you.
Andrea Green: [laughs] Yeah. Had a few talks with the teachers.
Cindy Schemrich: It's tough, the, the unknown. But I'm so proud of how far Austin has came. The determination he has to get better says a lot for his character, I believe.
[In his wheelchair, Austin rolls through the empty gym.]
John Schemrich: Uh, Austin's original goal was to walk out of the hospital, and that was right after the surgery. You still don't know exactly the extent of the, the condition he's gonna be in. That's where his resilience started. I, you know, his strength really. He, you know, he wants to walk again.
Austin Schemrich: If you, if you quit, you, you don't get better. So I was determined to get better.
[A man helps Austin put on the backpack component of an exoskeleton.]
[The man, a physical therapist, speaks to Austin.]
Chris Colatruglio: You ready to walk again?
So Premier Health offers a wide range of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. We try to treat everyone as an individual.
[Text appears: Chris Colatruglio, PT, DPT, Physical Therapist, Premier Health.]
Even though something may be similar, like, we are there to help each person get better at what they want to get better at.
Austin Schemrich: Basically, I started calling around, asking about exoskeletons and, like, learning about 'em, and then that led to going into therapy for it. And then I started working on it.
[Austin sits at his laptop, researching.]
Chris Colatruglio: His goal from the start was, "I know you have an exoskeleton. Can I use it? How can I get up into it?"
[The black robotic exoskeleton sits on a stool in a therapy gym.]
He wanted to walk across the stage at graduation. So this was his goal for the last three years.
[Chris walks over to Austin, who is in his wheelchair.]
Austin Schemrich: Premier Health was very supportive, especially giving me the chance to prove people wrong about the exoskeleton being only for certain levels of injury.
[Chris helps Austin transfer from his wheelchair to the exoskeleton. Therapists secure Austin's legs and feet into the device.]
Chris Colatruglio: There was some things that we had to make sure and be realistic about. So it was, "Let's just see how this happens and see can you tolerate standing with this device?" And then after that, "Can you tolerate 10 steps?" That's what my first goal was, "Can we take 10 steps?"
[Assisted by two therapists, Austin stands up, using a walker for support.]
Three, two, one.
[He takes his first steps in the exoskeleton, moving slowly across the gym floor.]
Austin Schemrich: My very first time, I went 260-something steps. My PR is 777, which is the most steps they had anyone in an exoskeleton actually do
Chris Colatruglio: The work it takes to get to this is a combination of determination. You have to want to do it.
[Austin walks with purpose, his face set in concentration.]
This is not something that you can just hop out of bed or roll over and do. You have to want this, and you have to be patient for it to happen.
[Three therapists surround him, guiding the exoskeleton as he walks.]
Someone in his situation with a ... It is not, this is not something that you do first. This is a, this is a long process of rehab that eventually could culminate in this kind of activity. So you have to be patient for those moments. You can't push it. Your body can only tolerate so much sometimes.
Austin Schemrich: As I continued doing it, I went farther, and eventually learned to turn while walking, which I caught on really quickly. It was definitely a new feeling that I never thought I would feel ever, ever again, especially when the doctors in the hospital told me I would never walk again, period.
Chris Colatruglio: I have never worked with a client like Austin before. I've had multiple patients in an exoskeleton before, but never someone who want, wanted to achieve this kind of goal on a public level. You know, most of the time it's just, "I wanna be able to walk," and maybe a family member takes a video while they're in the gym doing it, but never like, "Hey, I wanna go in front of hundreds to thousands of people and be able to show what I can do."
Austin Schemrich: As the appointments got closer and closer to graduation, more stuff with like, ah, the whole filming and [laughs] all the news stuff started kicking in, which was also kind of like nerve-wracking.
[In the gym, the school's Viking mascot stands near the stage. Austin operates the joystick on his wheelchair.]
Like the day of, we did a practice run before everyone got there. Like even with that, everything didn't go perfectly at all.
[In the crowded bleachers, audience members hold up their phones to record.]
[Pomp and Circumstance playing.]
[The graduation procession begins.]
Chris Colatruglio: Once he got in with the rest of his classmates into the gym, um, and they got introduced as a class, he came off into the side and by the locker rooms, getting everything ready and set, making sure everything was out of the way and that we could have a smooth path into the gym.
[In a hallway, a team of therapists quickly helps Austin transfer from his wheelchair into the exoskeleton.]
Austin Schemrich: In the practice, it was a little bit slower.
Chris Colatruglio: It truly felt like we were in NASCAR, and I was, we were doing a pit stop. Austin was calm, cool, and collected the whole time. Like I think I was probably the more nervous one. He was like, "Oh, I got this. I got this. I'll be all right."
Austin Schemrich: No, I did not feel confident at all in that moment.
Chris Colatruglio: Then it kind of really sank in, like, oh, we're doing this. Truly no turning back, like let's get in this, let's stand up, and let's make our entrance.
[A therapist uses a handheld controller to operate the exoskeleton.]
Announcer: Sean Ward, Sarah Gaines.
[Austin stands at the top of the bleacher stairs, ready. He walks down the stairs and into the seating area with his fellow graduates.]
Congratulations. The class of 2026 have demonstrated an exceptional record of achievement. We would first like to recognize the 159 students who earned the Spring Honor Roll Medal.
[He sits in his specialized chair among the other students.]
Please stand as being acknowledged.
Austin Schemrich: Finally like taking a breather and like sitting down and like, all right, now we're just waiting for me to get back up again.
Chris Colatruglio: So by the time his out, the outfit came around to his name or close to his name, that's when it got really real.
[As the announcer gets closer to his name, Chris kneels beside Austin.]
So at that point it was, okay, let's stand up and let's just make sure w- everything that we had worked on for the last few months was put into play.
[Chris helps Austin stand up from his chair.]
By the time we got up and his name got called, like you can just feel the intensity of the moment.
[An announcer calls his name. Text appears: Austin Tyler Schemrich. The entire crowd rises for a standing ovation, clapping and cheering.]
Announcer: Austin Tyler Schemrich.
[Austin walks across the stage with the exoskeleton and walker.]
Austin Schemrich: When everyone started like standing up, that's what really caught me off guard.
Chris Colatruglio: This is what we practiced for is this moment exactly.
[He shakes hands with a school official and receives his diploma.]
Austin Schemrich: After I got fully across the stage, then I finally was like, "Thank God that's over."
[He poses for a photo with his diploma, laughs.]
Cindy Schemrich: It's our baby movie star. He made me very proud.
[In a photo studio, Austin's family surrounds him, throwing confetti.]
If you have a drive in you and you really want something, you work hard to get there.
[A photo shows Austin with his grandparents.]
John Schemrich: Watching Austin graduate, it was honestly a humbling experience to watch somebody go through everything that he's gone through. Well, you know, the whole cliche, you put your mind to it, you can do it. Well, you, you really can.
[Austin and his family pose for photos, smiling.]
Andrea Green: I think what others can learn from Austin is that there is hope.
Cindy Schemrich: Never give up your goals and your dreams. Just keep working at them.
