A paralyzed woman has become the first person to complete a marathon in a bionic suit. It took her 16 days to finish, but she got there.
Gizmodo reports, Claire Lomas was paralyzed from the chest down in 2007 when she was thrown off her horse and broke her neck, back, and ribs, and punctured a lung. Ordinarily, people who sustain these kinds of injuries will never walk again. Many don’t even survive.
But Lomas did. And after extensive rehab, she found her way into a ReWalk suit. The $70,000 bionic system uses motion detectors powered by an onboard computer system to do the unthinkable: Enable people to walk who can’t do so on their own. When the person wearing the outfit shifts her balance, indicative of wanting to take a step, the suit responds the way an able-bodied person’s joints would.
Which is miraculous enough for just getting around the house. But Lomas was determined to take the ReWalk on a 26.2 mile grind. Which is why she lined up with about 36,000 others on April 22nd at the start of the London Marathon. She walked about two miles each day, accompanied by her husband and 13-month-old daughter. A little over two weeks later, she crossed the finish line.
The Telegraph reports that Claire has so far raised more than £80,000 for Spinal Research, a charity which funds medical research around the world to develop reliable treatments for paralysis caused by a broken back or neck.
Read more in The Telegraph and Gizmodo.
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Image: Geoff Pugh
