Handcycle for Charity work, health and well-being

Hello! My name is Craig. I am hoping to raise money to purchase a handcycle, so I can complete charity events and raise some much-needed funds for Spinal Injury Charities in the UK that help thousands of people and also gain some health benefits along the way.

MY STORY: A mountain bike accident in 2002 changed my life at just 16!

As an outdoor, fun-loving adrenaline junkie at the age of 16, me and my brother decided to go for a bike ride, as we normally would. We would use our bikes to go on dirt trials and jumps pretty much every day! After a while, we found a dirt mound that was perfect for jumping our bikes and proving I was the better rider. I decided to have a go and set myself up to jump the mound, but on this occasion things didn't go to plan.

I hit the top of the mound and instantly knew I had taken the jump with too much speed. My body froze, there was nothing I could do except see it through and hope for the best.

The bike travelled through the air and as it came back down to the ground, with the front tire leading the way, I was almost vertical. The bike hit the ground with so much force that I was thrown a few feet through the air. Still frozen, and with everything going in what felt like slow motion, my head hit the ground with my body folding over itself and I blacked out.

A few moments later I came too and shouted for my brother, I instantly knew something wasn't right. I couldn't feel anything from my waist down, I knew I had broken my back!

Everyone always asks me what it felt like and I can only explain it as the most surreal feeling - you can see your legs but no matter what message you try to send from your brain to your legs/toes, there is nothing, just nothing! It was frightening!

Being 2002, we didn't carry mobile phones like we do today. My brother had to leave me laying on the ground with 2 strangers that were out walking their dog. Before long, an ambulance arrived and took me to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen and the next morning I was airlifted to the Heath Hospital in Cardiff.

Skip forward a few hours and after many X-Rays and MRIs, I was told I had fractured my spine at levels T5, T6, and compressed T7, T8 & T9. This will mean nothing to many, but it meant I was paralysed from the waist down.

At just 16, I'd just completed my GCSEs and was training to be a mechanic, the doctors told me I would never walk again! This was life-changing but I was not going to let it get the better of me!

I spent many months in Rookwood Hospital, in a Spinal Injury unit in Cardiff. For the first 6 months, I was in a bed being turned from side to side every few hours and I wasn't allowed to move or sit up.

After that, I spent many more months of being in a wheelchair, learning how to become independent again. I had physio every day while getting to grips with my new way of life. I had to be away from my family and friends for almost a year whilst in hospital recovering.

You can imagine, a 16-year-old stuck in hospital, very frustrated, being away from home, not being able to play sports, ride a bike and with all the thoughts of 'what if' and regret!

Luckily I started to regain some feeling in my legs. It was small but it was something and I was more determined than ever to prove the doctors wrong.

For the next few years, I went to physio and improved the strength of my legs. Albeit with the use of walking aids and my wheelchair, eventually, I was strong enough to stand and walk by myself.

I am forever grateful for all the support and work the nurses and doctors gave me throughout my care. I have some amazing memories from such a traumatic time in life thanks to them! 

Although I can walk now, I am not 100% recovered. I still struggle with walking daily, I don't have any feeling in my left leg and I suffer from nerve damage over most of my lower body. I have leg spasms and pain every day in my legs and back and much more. BUT I am forever grateful and lucky to be where I am today!

MY REASON:

I am asking for help because adaptive equipment is insanely expensive and being active and staying healthy has started to become hard, with age (now 38) my body is catching up with me, and I've had to accept that.

I want to get this bike for a few reasons:

A larger part of getting this bike is showing people what you CAN do with a disability! Opening all eyes to the possibilities of what one can do at any age or disability!

## Any money raised over the amount needed for the handcycle will be given to a Spinal Charity(s) of my choice. ##

Thank you so much for considering my request. Your support means the world to me!