‘Robotic legs’ help graduate walk during commencement ceremony

Like any high school senior would be, Ella Weiske is thrilled to have had the chance to walk across her high school graduation stage.The Class of 2023 graduate told WBAY that the ability to walk during the commencement ceremony and accept her diploma at Ripon High School was a dream come true.Ella lives with Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair, but she was able to walk in the Wisconsin high school’s graduation ceremony this year with the help of a Trexo device.”They are robotic legs that get strapped to her legs so the beauty is when she fatigues, when her legs fatigue, when her muscles get too tight, the robots just keep going,” Ella’s mom, Deb Weiske, explained to WBAY, referring to the Trexo device.”I can feel my feet hit the floor and that just makes me happy,” Ella said.”Just to walk and physically grab my diploma, that’s going to be the best part of my day,” Ella told WBAY prior to the graduation ceremony.Jenna Konrad, who is also a Ripon High School graduate, has been best friends with Ella since kindergarten. “I knew she’s wanted to walk and I knew she wanted to walk for graduation and just seeing that she actually has it now and all the hard work it took to get to where she is today it’s just amazing and magical,” Konrad said.Ella wore sparkly shoes as she made her way across the graduation stage. “She can walk and she has to have these shoes to show that she is spectacular,” Konrad said.Deb Weiske said she and Ella hope to get more use out of the Trexo device.”We’d love to venture downtown Ripon and just walk and see the stores. We’d like to walk to a baseball game for her brother and just walk in which would be cool,” she said.