UKC

Back in March my girlfriend Hannah was doing some casual core exercises on a pull-up bar when it ripped out of the door frame. She broke her back at T12 level and was instantly paralysed from the waist down.

No insurance, plus the fact that she can't teach yoga or climbing anymore means she's in a bit of a bad place financially (and geographically - the only disabled access property we could find to get her out of hospital is in bloody Wakefield). The NHS did a fine job initially, but now she's out it seems they just want to give her some drugs and a voucher for a basic wheelchair and leave her to it. Physiotherapy (the NHS provide none) and half-decent wheelchairs don't come cheap. A lightweight wheelchair suitable for pushing more than a couple of hundred metres from your door starts at £2000. For an off-roader that'll get her off the paths and into the hills again, you're looking at upwards of £4k

Soooo... some of Hannah's friends have set up a charitable trust for her to try and raise some much needed cash. Hannah's Equipment and Therapy Fund: http://www.heatfund.org.uk/

The first event coming up is the Ben to Blanc Challenge: A sponsored run/cycle/climb from the top of Ben Nevis to the top of Mont Blanc over 15 days - Andy and Jack were planning to do it anyway for some perverse kind of fun, but now it's the perfect excuse to raise some sponsorship money! They've also relaxed their luddite suspicions and started a blog: http://ben2blancchallenge.wordpress.com/ Check it out, it's slightly amusing.

Please take some time to read http://www.heatfund.org.uk/p/hannahs-story.html and donate if you can, even if it's just pence it's all appreciated.
But before you do that, can you all go and make sure your bars and fingerboards are solidly attached, you really don't want this to happen to you.

In reply to simon kimber: Good luck to everyone involved. This excellent campaign deserves all the success and publicity it can get.

T.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Agreed. There but for the grace of God. .. cheque on it's way.

In reply to simon kimber:

What a sad shame, but all is not lost - in time through whatever means available the great outdoors will be at your fingertips again! Heres to your success in raising money - I have donated and urge others to, too.

We are all, including Hannah, going to be live on BBC Radio Leeds at 10:35 this very morning! So listen in if you can!

Thanks to everyone who has donated and wished us luck so far. We are incredibly grateful to you all!

Jack.

In reply to simon kimber:
Paid in £20 direct to the bank account. Very moving story, look forward to seeing Hannah out on the hills again soon.

In reply to simon kimber: Good luck

In reply to simon kimber: That's a really sad story, but what an inspirational group of friends! Hugely impressed with what you're doing, have made a donation through the site. Best of luck with the challenge!

Thank you all so much! We're overwhelmed by the response, both in donations and messages of support. All those who've donated or sent PM's, we'll try and respond individually at some point but we're without interwebs in the house at the mo so it may take some time. Love you all!!

Here's the link to the interview if anyone's interested http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/p00vrgj6
Our bit starts at 1hr 33mins.
Ta!

In reply to simon kimber: Made a suitable donation and dropped you an email, please respond privately when you have time.

In reply to simon kimber: hi have made a little donation via ppal to help you on your way.give my best wishes to hannah please.

In reply to simon kimber: in hozzy myself at the moment,but will make donation when up and about.Check out the video "equal to everyone else " showing nik royals,a guy with cerebral palsy who goes through the cwa scheme despite his disabilities.

Good luck

David

In reply to simon kimber:
Hi Simon,
I'm in Ladies Circle and it may be worth getting in touch with your local group (they are the women's section of Round Table who might be willing to sponsor too). I know my lot support things like your friends are doing so its worth a punt. Will put up a donation too.
Best of luck,

Solar

In reply to simon kimber:

Have made you a donation, best of luck.

Neil

In reply to simon kimber: I'm now going to be terrified of using my pull up bar, my wife already slides pillows under me when I'm not looking.

I've thrown £10 your way via Internet Banking, it's not much but we're a bit hard up at the moment, it's come from "Kieran from Cas."

Hope you hit your target amount and also get out of Wakefield!

In reply to simon kimber:

Dontation made and the very best of luck to Hannah, you and her family in working through this.

In reply to simon kimber:

Donation made, didn't notice a gift aid box otherwise I would have ticked it ?

Very sorry to hear your sad news, what a dreadfully unlucky outcome for such an accident.

With very best wishes

Nick (I remember you from your days at the Warehouse)

In reply to simon kimber: I wish you all the very best in your endeavour and hope that Hannah gets out into the hills again.

In reply to simon kimber:
Very sorry to hear what has happened. Hannah's story really hit home for me as I recentlysuffered a similar injury (burst fracture of L1) but have been lucky enough to still be able to walk after an operation. Have donated by bank transfer.

Best of luck with getting back into the hills.

In reply to simon kimber:

Thanks again for all the donations! For anyone wondering about giftaid - we aren't eligible for it as this isn't a registered charity, it is a charitable trust. The difference is all the money raised goes to benefit just one person(Hannah) so we can't get registered charity status.

Andy and Jack made it up Mont Blanc, just 11 days, 5 hours and 41 minutes after leaving Ben Nevis, a phenomenal effort especially considering they'd never even ridden a roadbike until this year!

nikoid - which Nick are you? There were a few Nicks climbing there back then!

I was (am) the unfeasibly tall Nick!(Nick Salmon)

In reply to simon kimber: Simon, please alter the default method of donation to the bank acc no/sort code.

Someone in addition to me set out to donate, got asked too many questions by paypal and was put off as a result. I did point out the alternative method, but it is not obvious on your site.

It is not very sensible to point people at Paypal at the first contact.

In reply to simon kimber:

Saddened to read about Hannah's accident, but I hope her determination and the enthusiasm of friends and family will allow her to lead a full outdoor life again. I've made a modest donation of my own.

Several years ago now I had a small accident with a friend's pull-up bar when as I pulled-up it came down and promptly broke my nose as we hit the ground. Irritating yes, but ultimately insignificant in the context of this story. I remember thinking to myself them that I it was a timely reminder never to trust others gear (of any type) like you trust your own.

Good luck to Hannah.

Wow; feeling for your gf; and brings home how lucky I was when I did much the same, but with a good 6' drop. Maybe the pile of motorbike jackets on the floor did help.

Rather short on cash at the moment, however I do have a variety of tools and a big pile of wood etc. I'm in Keighley and could quite possibly not something rather less professional than in a shiny catalouge up depending on what was required (ie ramps, etc can easily do, possibly other more complicated stuff). Happy to offer some physical help if I can.

In reply to simon kimber:

Simon, please consider posting roughly how near or how far you are from your targets. I would like to think that between us all we can meet at least one of Hannahs targets, be it one chair or similar. Although I have already donated I will be donating again and I think like many others some visibility of the average amount and the distance away from a suitable goal will be a real "driver" for many people including myself to make more substantial donations to aid Hannah in getting something sooner rather than later!

All the best in the meantime.

Having just bought a pull up bar that slots in-between a door frame, this story is a little shocking. I didn't think it was possible to do such damage, though I had considered that it might be a bit dangerous. After reading this, I think I'll send it back...

In reply to simon kimber:

I'm very sorry to hear about what's happened. My father suffered a spinal injury 18 months ago playing squash and spent the next year in hospital so I know how unexpected and life changing these things can be.

I wish Hannah the best of luck!

In reply to simon kimber: Am recovering from a spinal injury myself at the mo,but will be donating the moment I'm back at work.
Not a lot a stranger can say in these circumstances,but please give Hannah my best wishes,she is fortunate to be surrounded by such caring friends.
The very best of luck,
Stu

I'd just like to echo battledroid's comments. A few posts to let people know how the funds are doing would be worth while.

Matt

Sorry for the lack of updates, we've just got back from that London after an exciting few days at the Paralympics!

Thanks for all your donations, the response has been fantastic. I'm not sure of the exact total, but you've definitely helped us break the £10,000 mark! We never really set a target, but we're I guess we're just going to keep going.

First big spend is going to be a decent everyday wheelchair (she's borrowing one from the hospital for now) and it's looking like it'll cost considerably more than we thought - around £3k, although her NHS voucher will cover about a third of that we really couldn't afford it without your help. We've also got a handy device called a Freewheel which clips onto the front of any wheelchair and raises the castors off the ground. It makes rough ground a lot easier to deal with, and we've been putting it to good use on our daily runs.

In reply to simon kimber:

Just a little teaser of a video we're making about the Ben2Blanc trip mentioned above. Seriously worthwhile adventure if anyone is that way inclined.

http://ben2blancchallenge.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/a-teaser-of-the-little-f...

Also a big Happy Birthday to Hannah for tomorrow xxx