Lizzie Ball
I think I might be crazy (but it's only a walk and a run?!)
Fundraising for Spinal Research
Story
After inspired discussions in the pub with a great friend Toby Warren, we decided that we wanted to raise money for charity by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and running the London Marathon and over the next two months we are attempting to achieve both. We are raising money for Spinal Research as a friend of Toby's, James Gribble, an active sporty young man, tragically had a freak accident falling off a stall in Africa in November 2008 and was left a quadriplegic. The work that Spinal Research does helps people like James rehabilitate from their injuries as they develop revolutionary treatments for paralysis and support the accident victim.
I think we might be crazy and I can not work out which one is going to be hardest or which one will hurt most!! However, I am lucky enough to be able to do both of these things whilst others are less fortunate and therefore it would be fantastic if you would sponsor me to help Spinal Research change the lives of others by helping the victims of paralysis.
We all too often take walking and the daily freedom it gives us for granted. Spinal Research is the UK's leading charity funding medical research around the world to develop reliable treatments for paralysis caused by a broken back or neck and injuries to the spinal cord. Repairing a damaged spinal cord is one of the hardest challenges that medical science has ever faced but Spinal Research has played a fundamental role in the major breakthroughs which have recently been made in this field and are now closer than ever to developing treatments to reverse paralysis. Thanks to Spinal Research, paralysis can now be treated and they help people recover by applying therapies that will restore movement and feeling and transforms the lives of paralysed people.
The spinal cord contains bundles of neurons that send signals to and from the brain. Those signals control almost every function of our bodies. After a spinal cord injury, damaged neurons are unable to conduct signals and the person loses feeling and movement below the level of the injury. But spinal cord injury isn’t just about paralysed arms and legs. It also affects physical sensation, breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, temperature, bladder and bowel control. On top of that, the psychological implications of paralysis are enormous for the person who is injured and for those around them.
A car crash, a serious fall, or a sporting accident can happen to anyone and a spinal cord injury can change a person’s life irrevocably, in the space of an instant. Over 40,000 people in the UK alone are paralysed as a result of broken neck or back.
So please sponsor me and give generously to Spinal Research.
If you would like to know more about my challenges and why I would like your sponsorship please read on.
Together with six friends (me Dizzy (Lizzie Young), Tobs (Toby Warren), Bass (Simon Bassett), Luva (Jonathan Burton), Hugh (Emma Galland) and Zara (Zara Hearn), we are off in March to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Mount Kilimanjaro in , Africa, stands at 19,340 feet high, the highest mountain in and the highest 'walkable' mountain in the world, a magnificent and spectacular undertaking. Over seven days, we will climb through five different climatic zones in our quest to meet the summit. The weather on the mountain changes from moment to moment and the high altitude wreaks havoc on the body and mind.
And then in April I will be replacing the walking boots with trainers and running the London Marathon (something I have always aspired to do but feared I would never be able to run that far!!). I am sure a similar amount of determination and mental toughness will be essential to complete the 26 miles of London. Walking the walk will be infinitely more difficult that talking the talk!
doubts as to fitness levels and altitude fears but after some weekends walking in the Brecon Beacons and Malvern Hills in snow, rain, darkness and fog we now feel prepared to take the walk on and are all very excited by the challenge and adventure. The climb is certain to challenge our fitness levels and team work to the extreme as we tackle not only the walk but the unpredictability of the altitude which can affect anyone (however fit they may be). I have been fitting in some long runs through dark snowy London in between the walking weekends. The climate (snow, snow and more snow) has not been kind so far.....
extremely grateful to you for your kind support in sponsoring me for these challenges. I will of course keep you updated on our progress on Kili and post some photos of the summit and then of the marathon.
Thank you, thank you, thank you
Best wishes,
Lizzie Young.
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