Samuel Hall
Sam's Trek up Mt Kilimanjaro
Fundraising for Cornwall Hospice Care
Story
Hi.
For those of you who don't know me, I have Dystonia, a type of Cerebral Palsy, which mainly affects my speech and walk, and creates spams in my neck. About 8 years ago I notice my disability, especially my walk getting worse. I struggled to walk on uneven surfaces, cobble stones were a nightmare. I went back to my Neurologist and got told about the possibility of an operation call Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), where they put electrodes inside my brain and connect them to a pacemaker-like device in my abdomen. I eventually had the procedure in August 2017 and recovery was very tough. In the days immediately after I had the procedure I had completely lost the ability to speak, I hadn't been told this was a possibility so it was of course very concerning! In the weeks that followed I slowly be able to string words together, and then sentences. After 3 months off, I was back at work. The 7-hour operation has completely stopped my neck spasms and changed my walk, although I still have issues with uneven surfaces. All of this was while my Dad was battling terminal prostate cancer.
He first got diagnosed with the cancer in March 2012 with a 5-7 year prognosis. The first 5 years were relatively symptom free, it was then when he started slowly becoming more and more ill. After various chemotherapies and radiotherapies, he sadly passed away in March 2019 at St Julia's Hospice in Hayle, Cornwall. I am raising money for the Hospice by defying my disability and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in July this year. I'm no stranger to challenges, in 2019 I cycled the first stage of the Tour De France for Prostate Cancer UK, and I did the RideLondon 100 a couple of years before that. Kilimanjaro will be by far the biggest and most difficult challenge yet, and it is something my Dad would have loved to do when he was well. I am getting some training in though, as I live in Chesterfield I have the beautiful Peak District right on my doorstep.
I am self-funding it too so more of the money you donate will go to the Hospice and NOT towards the cost of the expedition. This will be a very personal experience for me as not only am I doing it for a cause that really helped my dad in his last couple of months but it's also something that he would have loved to do when he was well.
In addition to the altitude, being the highest mountain in Africa and the highest freestanding mountain in the world, I will likely find it more difficult than most people due to my Cerebral Palsy, but who am I to let that hold me back!
For those of you who don't know me, I have Dystonia, a type of Cerebral Palsy, which mainly affects my speech and walk, and creates spams in my neck. About 8 years ago I notice my disability, especially my walk getting worse. I struggled to walk on uneven surfaces, cobble stones were a nightmare. I went back to my Neurologist and got told about the possibility of an operation call Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), where they put electrodes inside my brain and connect them to a pacemaker-like device in my abdomen. I eventually had the procedure in August 2017 and recovery was very tough. In the days immediately after I had the procedure I had completely lost the ability to speak, I hadn't been told this was a possibility so it was of course very concerning! In the weeks that followed I slowly be able to string words together, and then sentences. After 3 months off, I was back at work. The 7-hour operation has completely stopped my neck spasms and changed my walk, although I still have issues with uneven surfaces. All of this was while my Dad was battling terminal prostate cancer.
He first got diagnosed with the cancer in March 2012 with a 5-7 year prognosis. The first 5 years were relatively symptom free, it was then when he started slowly becoming more and more ill. After various chemotherapies and radiotherapies, he sadly passed away in March 2019 at St Julia's Hospice in Hayle, Cornwall. I am raising money for the Hospice by defying my disability and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in July this year. I'm no stranger to challenges, in 2019 I cycled the first stage of the Tour De France for Prostate Cancer UK, and I did the RideLondon 100 a couple of years before that. Kilimanjaro will be by far the biggest and most difficult challenge yet, and it is something my Dad would have loved to do when he was well. I am getting some training in though, as I live in Chesterfield I have the beautiful Peak District right on my doorstep.
I am self-funding it too so more of the money you donate will go to the Hospice and NOT towards the cost of the expedition. This will be a very personal experience for me as not only am I doing it for a cause that really helped my dad in his last couple of months but it's also something that he would have loved to do when he was well.
In addition to the altitude, being the highest mountain in Africa and the highest freestanding mountain in the world, I will likely find it more difficult than most people due to my Cerebral Palsy, but who am I to let that hold me back!