U.S. Swimmer Asks Prince Harry To Give Invictus Medal To U.K. Hospital That Saved Her Life
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A US army sergeant has asked Prince Harry to give one of the gold medals she won at the Invictus Games to the hospital in England that she credits with saving her life.
Elizabeth Marks returned the medal she won for the 100-metre freestyle in Orlando and asked him to give it to Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire instead.
Marks went into respiratory distress syndrome on the eve of the inaugural Invictus Games, which Prince Harry set up to support the rehabilitation and recovery of injured service personnel, in London two years ago.
Elizabeth Marks won four gold medals at the Invictus Games in Orlando.
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She was put into a medically induced coma and placed on life support, but made a full recovery.
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“It’s the only thing I could give to thank them for saving my life," the 25-year-old, from Arizona, said.
In a message to the NHS, she added: “I will never be able to repay you, but what you are doing is wonderful. I gave one of my medals to Prince Harry and hope it will find its way back to [Papworth].”
Prince Harry watches the wheelchair rugby finals with US vice-president Joe Biden and his wife Jill.
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Combat medic Marks was left with no sensation in her left leg after suffering a serious hip injury in 2010, but she still serves in the US army after regaining fitness.
She is due to compete in the Paralympics in Rio this summer.
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