Extraordinary moment paralysed man WALKED 30 steps and stood to give his father of-the-bride speech at his daughter's wedding - powered by a robotic suit <br />
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For most men, giving a father of the bride speech is one of the proudest moments of their lives.<br />
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But after IT consultant Irving Caplan was paralysed in a cycling accident, he feared he may have to address guests at his daughter's wedding from a wheelchair.<br />
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However, thanks to the latest in robotic technology, the 55-year-old walked across the dance floor of a wedding venue last month and delivered his speech standing up.<br />
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Mr Caplan, from Stanmore, Middlesex, broke three vertebrae when he collided with a lorry in Edgware, north-west London on his morning cycle to work two years ago.<br />
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After undergoing a series of operations and spending 12 days in intensive care, he was left tetraplegic and needing a wheelchair to get around.<br />
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When his daughter Joanne announced she was to marry fiancé Mike Beaumont, Mr Caplan feared he would be unable to walk his daughter down the aisle or deliver his speech standing up.<br />
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But after he and wife Karen, 57, met a representative of Rex Bionics at an exhibition of technologies for the disabled, he was lent the robotic suit to allow him to stand and walk.<br />
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'The guests were gobsmacked when I walked out. It was the usual speech, thanking everyone for coming and hoping everybody had a good evening, but I certainly surprised them all with my entrance.<br />
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'It wasn't possible for a number of reasons for me to walk Joanne down the aisle, but I was able to do my speech standing up.<br />
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'It is quite an issue when you end up in a wheelchair, being at the wrong height compared to everybody else. But being able to speak to everybody from the right height did make quite a difference.<br />
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'It made a difference to me in the sense that I was doing it from the right perspective.<br />
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'The day was wonderful. It was everything you would hope your daughter's wedding day to be. Unfortunately I could not do everything 