One of the most publicized stories from last month’s Invictus Games in Orlando involved Britain’s Prince Harry and a young US Army sergeant.
This year was Sergeant Eliabeth Marks’ first year competing at the Invictus Games but not her first attending.
Two years ago –at the inaugural Invictus Games in London- Marks was ready to compete but went into respiratory distress.
After coming down with the deadly lung condition, Marks was put into an induced coma for ten days.
She felt indebted to the Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, who she credits with saving her life.
“They absolutely saved my life and I can’t thank the UK enough,” she said.
So this year, when Marks received a gold medal after winning the 100-meter freestyle race, she handed the medal back to Prince Harry and asked him to deliver it to the Papworth hospital staff.
Yesterday, the royal prince kept his promise to Marks by personally presenting the medal.
Marks, a 25-year-old Arizona native has served in the US Army since she was 17. In 2010, she suffered a serious hip injury while in Iraq, leaving her with no feeling in her left leg.
Sergeant Marks remains on active duty in the US Army and is also a member of the 2016 U.S. Paralympic swimming team.
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