The Jewish Chronicle
Here comes the bride's father - thanks to his robot legs
September 23, 2014 10:36
"As a girl growing up you always expect your dad to be there to walk you down the aisle," said Joanne Beaumont
But she knew her father, Irving Caplan, would be unlikely to fulfil that role. Mr Caplan had been confined to a wheelchair as a tetraplegic for the last two years following a cycling accident.
But when Joanne married her fiance Michael Beaumont, Mr Caplan got up and walked across the dance floor to deliver his father-of-the-bride speech, much to the amazement of the 115 wedding guests, at the reception at Sopwell House in St Albans.
The 56-year-old IT consultant said: "There was a collective intake of breath then everyone spontaneously started clapping. I hadn't expected that and it was very emotional. Even the hard men had tears in their eyes," he said.
Mr Caplan was able to achieve the feat thanks to a exoskeleton suit, a self-supporting robotic walking device made by Rex Bionics.
"It was the first time I had seen him walking in 18 months," said Joanne.
"It just made the day extra special. It meant I could give him a hug. When someone's in a wheelchair you can't give them a proper hug. To be able to give him a proper hug was amazing."
It took Mr Caplan three minutes to make the journey. His daughter had prepared a soundtrack to accompany him with tongue-in-cheek choices such as Walking back to happiness and You'll never walk alone.
Rex Bionics agreed to lend the robotic legs, worth £100,000, after Mr Caplan told them about how much he would like to walk his daughter down the aisle. "Rex said, 'let's see what we can do'."