Training days

Trevor Hayden was driving his truck down a country road in November 2016 when he he suddenly lost control.

The truck rolled over several times and Hayden, 27, was ejected from the vehicle and landed on the side of the road.

In the hospital, doctors told Hayden, from Manto, Illinois, that he was paralyzed from the waist down and he would likely never be able to walk again.

But Hayden refuses to accept the diagnosis and, in addition to standard therapy, he’s learning how to walk again with the help of a robotic exoskeleton.

The bionic legs encourage the motion of walking and stimulate hip joints and leg muscles – which Hayden hopes will help train his body out of paralysis.

Hayden isn’t quite sure how the truck lost control as he was driving but remembers how it rolled over repeatedly.

He was ejected from the truck and landed in a field. When he woke up, first responders were surrounding him and he was unable to move anything besides his arms slightly.

Hayden was immediately taken to the hospital and underwent surgery. When he woke up, doctors informed him that he may never be able to walk again due to the extent of his paralysis.

‘I had no idea what to think. There were a lot of tears and pain before I really knew what was happening,’ he said.

‘Initially they told me I wouldn’t regain much more movement than what I had retained from the time of my accident and that I was very lucky to have the dexterity and motor function I still did in my arms.

‘After getting over the initial shock of what happened, I quickly started to focus on what my first step would be in recovery and I haven’t looked back since.’

After spending 10 days in the hospital following the accident, Hayden was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility in Chicago where he spent the next six weeks.

With basic therapy, Hayden regained the motor function in his arms and the strength in his fingers and hands.

Upon leaving the inpatient facility, Hayden spent the next three months still living in Chicago but in an outpatient facility, slowly regaining back his independence.

‘I was living at my parents’ house at the time and that was a huge adjustment, being in a wheelchair and rolling into your childhood home where everything has been modified was a shock to say the least,’ he said.

Hayden set a personal goal of returning to his own house by the first year anniversary of the accident, in November 2017.

Family and friends pitched in to help remodel the house to make it wheelchair accessible so he could move back in.

Hayden is currently in therapy to improve his strength and balance in the hopes that he will defy the doctors’ prediction of being completely paralyzed for the rest of his life.

He has therapy sessions twice a week and on other days he has a stimulation bike set up in his home, or he does pool therapy.

During the sessions, Hayden uses a ‘Rewalk exoskeleton’ to help encourage the motion of walking and stimulate the muscles in his legs as well as the joints in his hips.

Joint movement is created from battery-powered motors and the user can control the suit’s motion from a wireless controller worn on the wrist.

A tilt sensor perceives when the body is leaning forward and takes the first step. Crutches can also be used for stability.

Members of the local community, friends and family put together a benefit called  ‘Trevor’s Endeavor’ to raise money for the expenses of therapy and recovery.

‘My current goal is to get efficient enough in the exoskeleton to the point where it becomes a reality to have one for home use,’ Hayden said.

‘The constant goal is to walk again and regain functional movements which is what all the therapy is working towards in the end.

‘I continue to see improvement in all areas so it’s encouraging to keep pushing while I have the opportunity, I don’t want to look back and think I could have done more.’

You can read more about his challenging journey at Trevor’s Endeavor or through his Instagram, @trevorsendeavor .

Open from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next day, the shop is a favorite late night haunt for many of the capital’s night owls.

The restaurant’s daytime set up of 7-8 tables expands with an additional 10 tables on nearby sidewalks during the busiest hours of 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Up to 80 diners can dine at the shop during this time.

Three sellers, 58-year-old Kim Oanh, her sister Kim Cuc, and the sisters’ sister-in-law, manage the restaurant at No.3 Tran Phu Street. The business is separated into three distinct shifts, each of which is overseen by one of the trio. On average, the shop sells about 400 to 500 bowls of pho per day. According to Oanh, each shift she and her employees serve customers while simultaneously preparing food for the following day.

The shop was opened by Oanh’s grandfather to serve north-south train commuters in the early 1970s. The business was then passed on to her mother. After her mother passed away, Oanh and her sister took over the business in 1998.

Duong Tau is named after its location near the train tracks. When it first opened, there were few stores and no food streets like there are now on Tong Duy Tan Street. One of the first food stands here was the pho business owned by Oanh’s grandfather. Back then, customers formed long lines to wait for their noodle soup, according to Oanh. Despite numerous other eateries in the neighborhood that have come and gone, Pho Duong Tau is still around.

Oanh said that after 25 years in business, the shop remains almost unchanged, with the exception of the old wooden tables and chairs having been replaced with plastic sets to make serving more convenient. People of all ages come to eat here. Tourists from other regions, as well as foreigners, also come to enjoy this cuisine.

The restaurant’s menu has all different types of meat such eye round steak, well done brisket, flank, tendon and even beef stew in red wine. The average price per bowl is around VND50,000 ($2.12). Diners can order side dishes such as poached eggs and fried dough as well.

A bowl of pho with eye round steak at Pho Duong Tau. Photo by VnExpress

The broth, which is thoroughly cooked from beef bones throughout the day, is what attracts customers to this restaurant. As a result, it tastes light, clean, and sweet. Both daytime and nighttime customers are drawn in by the aroma of beef broth combined with scallions.

For simple cuts of meat like eye round steak, well done brisket, and tendon, the beef is thinly sliced. When customers order, the seller just needs to blanch the meat in the hot broth. But for beef stew in red wine, it requires more time and effort to cook. The beef is cut into two-centimeter squares, seasoned with sweet gourd oil and then put in the pot to cook. It is cooked for about 2-3 hours, until each piece of meat absorbs all the flavor and turns orange-red.

Pho is a dish that can be consumed at any time of day. However, the best time to eat at Duong Tau is late evening or early morning. Every day, around 11:30 p.m., a train travels through the tracks to Hanoi station. Many people enjoy eating pho while watching the train pass by and listening to the sound of the locomotive and its wheel sliding down the track. This has become a signature feature of Duong Tau.

28-year-old Vu Thi Quynh Chi from the nearby Hai Phong City has been a regular customer for about 5 years. She was introduced to the joint by a friend living in Hanoi. Chi often comes here with friends when they have to come home late. She likes pho with beef stew in red wine the most, as she described the beef as fragrant and soft, beautiful in color, and the broth as tasty. “The first time I came, the train passed by while I was eating. I was a bit surprised but it was fun,” Chi said.

The restaurant is often crowded at night. Photo by VnExpress

Many Hanoi citizens have strong memories of Pho Duong Tau. Nguyen Van Sang, 58, a native Hanoian who lives close to the train line, revealed that he has been coming to the restaurant for breakfast for many years. He claimed that over time, the taste has hardly changed.

Guests can leave their vehicles in front of the shop, but as there is no security, they must take care of their own belongings. You can choose to sit at the tables set up in front of the restaurant if you visit at night. The disadvantage of sitting at the front is that hygiene cannot be assured because the tables are next to some trash cans.