Raised so far: £3,792.00
Donate now

My story

 

                                                   THE MIGHTY PUSH ( www.themightypush.com )

                                                              250 Miles for Spinal Injury Research

 

20 years ago my life was devastated when I suffered a spinal cord injury while playing rugby for a season in New Zealand.  At that time I had just completed a degree at the Scottish School of Physical Education and was playing rugby for Glasgow, and at junior international level.  Unfortunately this sort of story is not too unusual as the type of person who suffers a spinal cord injury, whether it be from rugby, horse riding, skiing, cycling or simply driving a car, is typically young and active.  When I suffered my injury the thought of a cure was a distant hope and progress has been slow.  Currently, however, a number of treatments are on the verge of moving from the laboratory to clinical trials and as such are close to achieving one of the holy grails of medical science – repair of the spinal cord.

 In order to raise money to help their development I’m going to return to New Zealand to complete a 250 mile handcycle journey in three sections; from Burwood Spinal Injuries Unit in Christchurch, where I was initially treated, across the Canterbury Plains (109 miles), along the lake Tekapo canal system (50 miles) and finally along the Otago Rail Trail (93 miles) towards Dunedin.  To give you an idea of the size of this challenge; the longest cycle I’ve achieved in one day so far is the 13 miles I completed when I did the Great North Run in 2006.  In this challenge I plan to average a marathon distance on each day and to make it even more demanding only about ½ of the route is on road surfaces with the rest being on gravel and other unsurfaced paths.

If you are reading this I am clearly hoping that you will support this cause, but before you decide, I would just ask to you to take a few seconds to think about how different your life would be if in your teens or early 20’s you had been unlucky enough to suffer paralysis and loss of feeling from such an injury.  It is a difficult thing to imagine but the reality is that every year numerous people are confronted by such a prospect.  Treatments are, however, on the horizon that could make a massive difference to their quality of life and I therefore hope you can show your support by making a donation.

All money donated to this challenge will go via Hearts and Balls (registered charity) to research projects working towards Human Trials of treatments for spinal cord repair.

 

see the details of the trip and its supporters at www.themightypush.com  

 

Clara told me about this amazing challenge. It's a fantastic cause, good luck! Gill x Donation by Gillian Goldberg 27/11/09  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

David, Ron Jackman told me about your challenge. As a past rugby player and keen skiier, I know how easy it can be have a serious injury. Good luck. Donation by Tony Hooks 26/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

All the best Dave. Donation by David Davidson 26/11/09  

£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid

Best of luck and have a great trip. Donation by Mark Spoor 26/11/09  

£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid

Awesome effort, best of luck Donation by Sarah Willis 26/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good Luck! Donation by Phil Hollington 26/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Inspirational! Donation by Richard Olver 26/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good luck big man - with you the way. Donation by Ian Jamison 25/11/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

Good luck Donation by Amy Gunter 25/11/09  

£2.00 + £0.56 Gift Aid

Best wishes and good luck! Donation by Gordon Arkley 25/11/09  

£100.00

Wishing you all the very best, we know you will make it. Ron & Gill. Donation by Ron & Gill Jackman 25/11/09  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

Good luck on those training cycles. Donation by Ian Bell 24/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

What a star - best of luck! Donation by Ali Hames 23/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

It's a great effort. Best of luck with it! Donation by David Sinclair 23/11/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Get moving you slacker! Donation by The Campbell Family 23/11/09  

£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid

Hi David thats fantastic. Hope it all goes well. love susan Donation by susan Bruce 23/11/09  

£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid

Best wishes for April 2010 from the team at the NZ Rugby Foundation. Donation by Andrew Flexman 19/11/09  

£100.00

Best of luck David. I hope the weather's good and the terrain is kind to you and your bike. Donation by Hilary Allsopp 19/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good luck David and I hope the weather is kind Donation by Ray Grainger 16/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

All connected with Edinburgh Accies and Raeburn Place wish you every succes with the challenge Donation by Jeremy Richardson 16/11/09  

£50.00

good luck and enjoy NZ Donation by andrew mcmenigall 16/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Hope all goes well: looks like a really tough but inspiring challenge you've taken on. Donation by Ronnie Kirkpatrick 16/11/09  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

Good luck from all at Lismore RFC Donation by ALI WYLIE 16/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Fantastic challenge, very inspiring. Good luck and safe travels. Donation by Garry 15/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good luck from Edinburgh Accies Donation by James Oliphant 15/11/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

The story and journey are inspirational. May God bless and keep you. Donation by Andre Boulais 15/11/09  

Good luck and what a fantastic thing to do! Donation by Jane Cockburn 11/11/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Fantastic achievement. Keep up the training! Enjoy the scenery if you get a chance on your way past! Good luck Donation by Jenny Davey 10/11/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Good luck David. What a challenge! at least you will be doing it in amazing surroundings! Donation by Sharon Smith 10/11/09  

Nice one David, I heard from Alex about your fundraising trip. I will put word round the Head Injuries Team and Walkergate to get more cash in. Neil Donation by Neil Brownlee 09/11/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
Donate now
 
* Total raised online: £3,792.00
  Offline donations: £0.00
  Gift Aid plus supplement: £939.79

* Charities pay a small fee for our service.
Find out how much it is and what we do for it.