The paraplegic who walked a marathon

Medical technology is progressing at dizzying speeds. David Thornton profiles some incredible products, including the 'bionic' suit that allows paraplegics to walk.

I saw an incredible woman give a speech last week. Claire Lomas was a top event rider before she was paralysed. She competed at the prestigious Burghley Horse Trials and had her sights set on making the British Olympic team. Her accident ended those hopes, but the remarkable story of how she went on to complete a marathon speaks volumes about the dizzying speed of progress in medical technology, one of my favourite investment themes.

In 2007 Claire was riding one of her horses in the Osberton Horse Trials in Nottinghamshire. Both the horse and course were familiar to her; it was a perfectly normal day of competition for such an expert rider. In a split second though, a freak accident changed her life forever. The horse clipped some branches and she was thrown into a tree.

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