We are raising funds to improve the life of our friend, Ed, who tragically suffered a severe spinal cord injury on the 9th of January 2022 whilst out mountain biking with a friend. The injury has left him paralysed from the chest down and forced him to shift from an active, independent lifestyle to one of increased dependence on others, medication, and specialist equipment at 32-years-old. His wife Meg was 32 weeks pregnant when he had his accident, and gave birth on the 1st of March while he was in hospital. They have been through an unimaginable struggle, and are facing a difficult road ahead. We want to help make life enjoyable for them by raising funds to modify their home and to buy equipment that will help Ed regain some independence as a husband and new father.

What Ed, Meg, and their daughter need

 When Ed and his wife Meg moved into their first home together in July 2020 they discovered, despite the surveyor’s report, that it was in need of substantial repairs and renovation. Unable to find any local trades to help, Ed didn’t hesitate to take on the multitude of repairs himself. They had just turned a corner with the house when Ed had his injury, leaving a whole new set of modifications to carry out at significant cost. Given the nature of his injury, Ed needs a much more accessible bathroom, with modifications for wheelchair access and both ease- and safety-of-use. In addition, he is now unable to access the garden/utility area and get up the stairs. Remodelling the stairs will make it possible for Ed to get up to his daughter’s bedroom and remodelling the existing garden/utility area to include a properly insulated conservatory would provide a perfect outdoor space for the training equipment Ed needs. 

 

Ed grew up in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and was a highly active person from a young age, playing rugby at school and university, sailing competitively, road cycling and mountain biking around the country, playing guitar and drums, and competing in a triathlon in 2017. The physiotherapists were adamant that this aided his recovery, and allowed him to return home more quickly to his wife and daughter. Maintaining this fitness will not only allow him to prevent the health complications he is now at greater risk of but help him maintain the fitness he needs to ensure maximum mobility, which is now entirely reliant on his arm and shoulder strength. It will also help Ed rebuild a key part of his identity – indeed, he has the goal of competing in a paraplegic triathlon - however, this will only be possible through the use of expensive equipment such as racing wheelchairs, hand bikes, and specially-adapted training devices.

 

The proposed modifications and equipment will also make it possible for Ed to return to work and realise some of the career he had hoped for. Having completed a PhD and made contributions to the field of cancer research, he now works as a consultant clinical scientist within the NHS, leading the specialist oncology laboratory at Charing Cross Hospital. The daily realities of life as a paraplegic make it difficult for him to work to his full capacity, and for him to support his partner when she returns to work after maternity leave. Meg is an anthropologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

 

We hope that this fundraiser will go some way towards making it possible for Ed and Meg to live comfortably and to realise some of the plans they had for their lives together.

 

How we plan to spend the money (GBP 60,000, approx USD 75,000)

 

1. An accessible bathroom, approximately £6000. 

 

2. An accessible and properly insulated conservatory, approximately £12,000

3. A new set of stairs (the current stairs are too narrow to accommodate a stairlift and there is not enough of a landing to allow for transfer to a wheelchair), approximately £15,000

 

4. A multigym adapted for wheelchair users, £6,490 https://www.cyclonemobility.com/equalizer-6000/

 

5. An Invictus Active trainer, £799 https://www.invictusactive.com/product/invictus-active-trainer/

 

6. A Freewheel wheelchair attachment, £375 https://www.invictusactive.com/product/freewheel-attachment-uk-reviews/

 

7. Off-road wheelchair wheels, £239 https://www.invictusactive.com/product/off-road-wheelchair-wheels/

 

8. A stairlift, approximately £3,000

 

9. Access to the garden, by fitting a new door with level access in the bedroom, replacing the existing surface with resin-bound gravel, and opening access to the back, approximately £10,000