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PortugueseA paralyzed man completed the London Marathon, boosted by Israeli technology that enabled him to run.
By: United with Israel Staff
A paralyzed man accomplished the unbelievable when he completed the London Marathon, boosted by Israeli technology that enabled him to run.
Britain’s Simon Kindleysides, 34, who is paralyzed from the waist down, set out Sunday and in 36 hours completed the London Marathon, becoming the first paralyzed man to finish the course on foot, the Times of Israel reported.
Israeli technology — the ReWalk exoskeleton, a suit for patients with spinal cord injuries that helps them walk independently with the help of computers and motion sensors, enabled him to carry through with this significant undertaking.
“I’m exhausted, I’m not going to lie,” Kindleysides said in a YouTube video after 25 hours into the course, having walked 16 miles. “I’m going to get to the finish line.”
“This is the furthest I have ever walked in my entire life,” he said at 22 miles. At mile 25, just before the 26 mile finish line, he said “bring it on, I’m almost there.”
He hit the finish line amid cheering crowds, raising his arms in victory.
Kindleysides was diagnosed in 2013 with a neurological condition and a benign brain tumor that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
“The support has just been overwhelming and like a dream come true,” Kindleysides told the Eastern Daily Press. “It is incredible because I didn’t expect it to be as big as it was. My children are getting great comments at school and they are very proud of their dad.”
“I just wanted to show that anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” he said. “You can stay in bed and feel sorry for yourself or get out and enjoy your life, because you are only here once.”
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