Paralyzed man works hard to walk down the aisle on his wedding day

30-year-old Matt Ficarra - paralyzed from the chest down - will walk down the aisle at his wedding, alongside his bride, Jordan Basile. He will make that walk using an "Ironman"-like robotic device known as an Ekso.

According to Syracuse.com, it is a bionic, wearable robot or exoskeleton that helps people walk whose legs are paralyzed. It is battery-powered, and uses a combination of motors and sensors to allow the user to walk using a regular gait. The portable bionic exoskeleton helps patients whose legs are paralyzed stand and walk. The battery-powered apparatus straps onto Ficarra and allows him to take normal steps.

Matt Ficarra, a Central New York man, has been unable to walk since a 2011 boating accident. At first, Ficarra thought if he worked hard enough, pushing himself to the limit, he'd be able to walk again. The Baldwinsville man soon realized the paralysis that resulted from breaking his neck in a freak boating accident was permanent. Ficarra, 27 at the time of the accident in 2011, would never walk again.

Ficarra has been driving seven hours round trip every week for the past five months to Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network in Allentown, Pa. for physical therapy, and to practice walking with the device.

When Ficarra first walked using the Ekso, he knew he wanted to use it to walk at his wedding.

"I never pictured myself rolling down the aisle in my wheelchair at my wedding,'' he said.

His fiancée, 27-year-old Jordan Basile, says she won't be able to hold back the tears as she walks with her husband down the aisle after they are pronounced man and wife.

"I'm so happy for him,'' she said. "Walking down that aisle means a lot to him. But for me, it doesn't really matter. He could be sitting or crawling down the aisle - all that matters to me is that he's by my side."

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