 |
| Claire Lomas Finishes the London Marathon |
They call her the Bionic Woman. I say she has amazing dedication, determination and is an inspiration. Claire Lomas, who became paralyzed from the chest down during a fall from a horse riding accident in 2007, completed the London Marathon 16 days after the race began. Although she will not receive the type of fanfare that the winner of the London Marathon received, nor will she appear in the official results to qualify for a metal, since you have to finish the course on the same day as the marathon to qualify, there were scores of supporters cheering her on when she crossed that finish line on the 16th day.
Claire became paralyzed when she broke her neck, back, ribs and punctured a lung during the Osberton Horse Trials in Nottinghamshire, when she was thrown from her horse. She wore a ReWalk suit for the marathon, designed by Amit Goffer, which enables people with lower-limb paralysis to walk, stand or climb through motion sensors and an onboard computer system. She is on a mission to raise money for Spinal Research, a charity funding global medical research to develop reliable treatment for individuals suffering from paralysis. Claire is the first person to complete any marathon using the ReWalk Bionic Suit.
When I read stories about the fighting spirit that people who face extremely tough obstacle courses, refuse to falter and take each part of the course one step at a time, then with the ability to use all of my faculties without the use of a ReWalk suit, I have no excuse but to strive to be my best!
Hats off to you Claire Lomas, for being an inspiration to those who want to give up due to their spinal injuries and challenges those of us who use the word “can’t” too liberally. Thank you!
