Tom Hoatlin on NuStep Machine

On December 17, 1991, I was managing the Comfort Inn in Livonia, Michigan.  Around 10:00 pm two armed robbers entered the hotel, jumped the front desk, emptied the cash drawer, and then demanded I take them to the safe in the back room.  After they took the money from the safe, they told me to lie on the ground, and then the gunman shot me in the base of the neck.  The bullet lodged in my vertebrae pinching my spinal cord.  Instantly, I became paraplegic.  I sustained a complete spinal cord injury with no use or sensation below my upper chest.  I walked in to work that day a healthy man but would not return home for another six months and would not walk again.

My personal experience with the NuStep T5 XR has truly been life-transforming.  In December of 2009, exactly 18 years after my injury occurred, NuStep Inc made a generous decision to donate a new NuStep T5 XR to the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living’s fitness center to benefit people with disabilities.

Some ask how a machine can be “life-transforming.”  I answer that before I transferred on to the NuStep, secured my legs in the foot pedals and began to propel the T5; I had not exercised or even moved my legs in 18 years!  That first time I used the machine I was very emotional watching my legs go up and down methodically, effortlessly.  Not to mention a little freaked out with all the snap, crackle and pops that were coming from my legs, knees and hips as I pedaled faster and faster.

That first evening, after using the NuStep, I was exhausted and slept for 12 hours.  It seemed my back pain was a little better and my stiff legs were more fluid while undressing in bed.  Even the next morning my legs were still more manageable than usual.

Since using the NuStep on a regular basis many things have changed regarding my overall health.  Even if I am tired after work and don’t feel like working out, I will force myself to at least get on the NuStep and pedal for 40 minutes.  I used to be exhausted when I got home from work and many times didn’t feel like doing much. Now, when I’m done with my NuStep workout I feel fully recharged to get through the rest of the evening.  I am much more motivated to stay active and I’m able to go further and roll faster when I “run” my dog at night. I feel alive when I use the NuStep! I finally have more than a weight station or free weights in the gym.  I have an elliptical machine just like everyone else – one that gives me a great cardio workout.

All it took was one session of 40 minutes on the NuStep and I was hooked – it’s addictive.  Since the donation there has been a steady line of staff and consumers waiting to use this awesome fitness machine!  The NuStep has been more than a fitness machine to me.  Even among others that use wheelchairs I used to feel less active, less strong, and less of an athlete.  Now, even though still a beginner, I feel more active, stronger and competitive!   When I am using the NuStep no one knows I have a disability – I feel equal to my peers in the gym.