Guillain Barre...What?
As an active and fit 31-year old, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would develop a neurological condition that would leave me paralysed and in hospital for nearly three months. I was, up until the point the doctor told me I had Guillain Barre Syndrome, completely engrossed in my own world of London-living; entirely oblivious to the condition that would change my life from one of activity and ambition to one of paralysis and dependency.
My story is symptomatic of others with Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS).
In March 2009, I was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London with GBS, a rare but serious inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nervous system. What started out as pins and needles in my fingers and toes progressively got worse to the point where I was almost completely paralysed without movement in any of my limbs, facial muscles and core muscles. Fortunately for me, the symptoms did not extend to affect my ability to breathe and swallow, which is a common symptom of GBS and is one of the primary causes of death from GBS in less developed countries. GBS affects approximately 1,500 a year in the UK.
Unlike more severe cases, GBS was a "two-way ticket" for me and I am pleased to say that I am now almost completely recovered. It is with this second chance that I am committed to raise money for the Guillain Barre Syndrome Support Group (GBSSG), the only UK-registered charity that supports patients with GBS and CIDP (a related condition) and their families. Their work also seeks to raise awareness of the condition and provide research grants into the causes and treatment of GBS.
Whilst GBS, in a lot of ways, was very much a personal challenge, I could never have hoped to regain my independence again without the support of my wife, family and friends. I recognise that not everyone has this support and so, with my brother, my brother-in-law and a friend, we are set to row the length of the Thames from Lechlade to Putney to raise money for the charity which provides this support to sufferers not as fortunate as me.
We aim to raise £5,000 for the GBSSG and would be grateful for any contribution (no matter how small!).
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March 2010 Update
Our preparations for the challenge have been hampered somewhat by me managing to go and break my ankle in January this year. Must be something about London hospitals - I can't stay out of them!
Happy to report however that the hard cast has now come off and I am now back into full-time training. We have, as a result, had to postpone the event from the beginning of May, as originally envisaged, to Monday 7th June (arriving at Putney Town Rowing Club on Saturday 12th June). You're all welcome to come and see us crawl over the finish line!
May 2010 Update
Training is going well. Goring Gap Boat Club have kindly allowed us to use thier boathouse at Pangbourne as a training base, where we have been introduced to the joys of sculling!! We'll be ploughing up and down the stretch between Pangbourne and Goring every Sunday morning in May (if for nothing else in an effort to harden up the hands!!), so if you see four exhausted men in a quad being shouted at by their cox, then you know who we are.
24th May Update
We now have just two weeks to go until the 'off' and the realities of the challenge are starting to appear very real!! Training continues to go well at Pangbourne; long, steady stretches of rowing are interspursed by the hustle and bustle of the various locks!!
We are delighted to have reached our initial target of £5,000!! A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far - needless to say, we wouldn't have got there without you. As a result, we have upped the target to £6,000 and hopefully, with a few more doantions, we'll achieve that target as well.
27th May Update
So three days later and following a very generous donation from TRI and a huge matching donation from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), I am pleased to say that we've smashed the £6,000 target. We don't know how to thank you all for your kindness. 10 days to go...becoming very real now!!!!
Keep up-to-date with our progress next week via the following link -
