Overview
Claire’s life turned upside down on 6th May 2007 when she became paralysed from the chest down in a horse riding accident. Claire fractured her neck, dislocated her back, fractured ribs, punctured a lung and got pneumonia. Luckily the neck fracture didn't damage the spinal cord but the dislocation to the vertebra T4 left her paralysed from the chest down. Claire was a Chiropractor and top level event rider when this freak accident left her unable to do the things she loved.
Although Claire was determined from the start to make the best out of the situation there were plenty of days Claire struggled to even get the motivation to get out of bed. She discharged herself from hospital after only 8 weeks, did a lot of rehab (and still does) and over time she found strength and courage to rebuild her life by finding new interests and work as well as raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for research.
Claire had her own fertility concerns and was unsure if she would ever be able to have a family. Just a year after her accident Claire met and later married Dan, and they had a baby girl - Maisie. Claire had pregnancy difficulties but went on to have Chloe after a challenging pregnancy. S
In 2012 Claire became headline news worldwide. She was the first (and only) paralysed person to walk the London Marathon, she did it in a pioneering robotic suit. It took 17 days and raised £210,000 for Spinal Research.
Claire was invited to light the Paralympic cauldron in Trafalgar Square at the London 2012 Paralympic Games
Show notes + Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Lomas
@claire80lomas
