Pioneering robotic leg technology would be a massive step for paralysed teenager

MARK SWEENEY is already a bit like the bionic man.

Just 17 years old, he’s undergone a whopping 122 operations, survived bacterial meningitis three times and been on life support on seven occasions. It’s easy to mistake him as some kind of superhuman.

And now, the paralysed teenager wants to add a set of state-of-the-art robotic trousers into the equation to help him walk again.

If successful, Mark would be the first person in Scotland to try out the pioneering technology.

“It would make an astronomical change to his life,” said mum Margaret.

“Just thinking about the difference it could make brings a smile to Mark’s face. And it’s the first time I’ve seen him really smile in years.”

Mark, from Motherwell, Lanarkshire, has had problems with his back for 15 years.

Aged two, he was diagnosed with spina bifida occulta, an opening in the spine.

He was also found to have diastematomyelia, where part of the spinal cord is split, and hydrocephalus, which is a build-up of fluid on the brain.

The following year, Mark went under the knife.

However, surgical mistakes were made which led to a childhood full of more operations, pain, discomfort and eventually Mark being paralysed from the waist down at the tender age of 12.

It was a day that changed his life completely.

“One surgery to remove the scar tissue had a risk of paralysis,” Margaret, 40, explained.

“We knew it was a possibility, but nobody expected it.

“Mark had to be told off for running around the hospital before he went into theatre, and was paralysed from the waist, and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his days when he came out.

“It shattered his world.”

Hairdresser Margaret had to quit her salon to become his full-time carer.

However, a system called ReWalk could help him get back on his feet again – literally – and help him achieve his dream of becoming an actor.

The RoboCop-type suit acts like an exoskeleton for people paralysed from the waist down, allowing them to stand and walk without assistance.

At the heart of the system are a series of motion sensors attached to leg braces, as well as motorised joints that respond to subtle changes in upper body movement.

But at a cost of around £60,000, Mark and his family can only appeal to friends, family and the general public to help fund his new “legs”.

“Since I became paralysed, I’ve excluded myself because there are so many things I can’t do,” said Mark.

“These new legs would allow me to get back out into the world and start living again.

“I’m only young and still have so much life ahead of me and so much still to experience.

“I know it will take a long, long time to raise enough money for the legs, but I’ll keep trying, no matter what it takes.

“They will change my life.”

To support Mark, visit gofundme.com/i-need-new-legs