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Mallory Weggemann is a Paralympic swimmer from the USA. She became paraplegic after an epidural injection to treat post-shingles back pain in 2008. She broke many world records in the S7 classification, and won multiple gold medals at the IPC Swimming World Championships in 2009 and 2010. At the 2012 Paralympics, she was controversially reclassified to S8, a class for swimmers with less impairment. She won the S8 50 metre freestyle event in a new Paralympic record time.
Just under four months after becoming paralyzed Mallory was back in the pool, with her eyes on Gold at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Having achieved that goal, she decided it was time to chase her ultimate dream, to walk again. For years, this was something that was deemed impossible, but a new possibility arose and in order to achieve her goal, Mallory reached out to the public to ask for their support through a crowd funding Indiegogo campaign. On November 16, 2013 Mallory’s dream came true, and she was able to “walk†again for the first time in nearly six years with her loved ones by her side. In order to accomplish this dream Mallory worked very closely with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to learn how to use her customized leg braces with the assistance of forearm crutches. Although, Mallory’s wheelchair will never be replaced by her customized leg braces and forearm crutches, they have allowed her to have short moments of upright mobility and the freedom of standing at her 5’ 9†stature again.
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