My brother Andrew is my hero, and what he has been through is nothing short of awe inspiring.  After recovering from a near death accident, he (and I) now have an opportunity to give something back, and other people's quality of life can benefit from your generosity.

How this started: Just over 18 months ago, Andrew had a bad mountain bike accident and broke his neck in a number of places, and also dislocated a couple of vertebra (tip for all of you mountain bikers - the wheels of the bike are there for a reason and make for a much better landing than the helmet).  

Andrew came within a millimeter of killing himself... and even closer to becoming a quadriplegic. Only with the help of the family that rode through a minute later, the ambulance response, the Westpac rescue helicopter that flew him to to hospital and some amazing medical staff at Auckland Hospital is he able to walk around today! 

Flash forward to today: After lots of rehabilitation and a long, hard road back to being mobile again, Andrew and I are currently less than six weeks away from both completing our first Ironman triathlon. On March 5th we will head to Lake Taupo in the North Island to take on a course consisting of a 3.8km swim, a 180km ride and then a 42.2km run.

Andrew's Training: The training hasn't been easy and really only began a couple of months ago. The accident has left Andrew with some nerve damage and weakness to his left arm and left leg as well as a couple of fused vertebrae and some extra metal in his neck. Swimming and riding are still quite difficult with a lack of neck flexibility and some lack of strength, but it could all have been so much worse and we are both just so thankful that he can even contemplate entering an Ironman.

Andrew has completed a number of triathlons previously, including the half Ironman in Canberra.  

My training: I, on the other hand, have never competed in a triathlon of any distance. So I thought the best way to ease into things was with a full Ironman! So when Andrew and I first discussed the idea, I immediately put my hand up to help support him. 

My own training has had its challenges - I've always been a terrible swimmer (in fact, less than 12 months ago I could hardly swim 50m in a pool) and I had never ridden more than 20km before training started a few months ago. Again, I will probably be a little bit (i.e. A LOT!) underdone when March 5 rolls around, but 1 am 100% committed to completing the event.  In fact, every day at training is a challenge, and the thing that keeps me going is knowing that other people have it a lot tougher than me, and through my perseverance I can potentially help other people with spinal cord injuries through fundraising.

How you can help: 

SpinalCure Australia is working to bring clinical trials to Australia that for the first time ever have shown a return of functional movement to people living with spinal cord injury!

You can read more about Spinal Cure Australia from the top right of this page... and you can also donate from this page too! In a nutshell, they fund research into finding a cure for spinal cord injury paralysis.

If you're donating from NZ, you can read about the New Zealand Spinal Trust here - https://nzspinaltrust.org.nz/ and you can donate to them here - https://give.everydayhero.com/nz/chris-andrew#/

Please help us help them by giving whatever you can using the 'Donate' button. The more people that know about Spinal Cure Australia, the greater their impact, so please also spread the word by sharing my page with your friends and family. 

Thank you in advance for your generosity, it means a lot!

We look forward to updating you on our progress and thanks for your support.