Paraplegic soldier finishes marathonA soldier who defied doctors to complete the London marathon crossed the finish line on May 9， 2009, 13 days after he started the 26.2-mile course.Major Phil Packer was told by medics that he would never walk again after being badly injured in a rocket attack in Basra last February.Today the 36-year-old, who is a paraplegic after suffering heart and spinal injuries, completed the race.He walked two miles a day on crutches after starting with other competitors on April 26.The soldier，who served in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland hopes to raise 1m pounds for the soldiers’ charity, Help for Heroes and has 370,000 pounds more to raise to hit his charity target.Still undergoing physical rehabilitation at Headley Court in Epsom, that afternoon Major Packer was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers who lined the final mile of the course.As he crossed the finishing line, at St. James's Park on the Mail，he said the feeling was "bitter-sweet” coming so soon after more serving soldiers lost their live in Afghanistan.
