Team Iain - 100 Mile Challenge
Team Iain: 100 Mile Challenge
- Directly supporting Iain Clark’s rehabilitation and raising awareness of spinal cord injury.
17th December 2016 – Holyrood Park, 9.30am, Beside St Margaret's Loch on Queen's Drive. (Where Queen's Drive meets Duke's Walk)
On Saturday 15th October, Iain will have been in hospital for 100 days.
Iain fell out of his loft on 7th July 2016, landing on his head on the floor below and fracturing and dislocating C3 vertebra. The resulting damage to his spinal cord has left him paralysed from the shoulders down. No use of his arms. No use of his hands. No use of his legs. Plans to move to France with his girlfriend shelved indefinitely.
The reality of spinal cord injury is little known outside of the National Spinal Injuries Unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow. And it is horrific. Surgery to fuse the affected vertebrae was only the start. Respiratory difficulties, caused by poorer diaphragm control limiting the ability to cough, led to pneumonia and Iain’s left lung collapsing on 16th July. 12 days of sedation and ventilation ended with him being brought round with a tracheostomy to help him breathe. He was consequently without his voice for 2 weeks. Iain’s bowel and bladder have been affected, his skin is susceptible to pressure sores. When a sore develops, he has to stay in bed until it has healed, which can take up to 2 weeks. There is the ever present danger of autonomic dysreflexia which leads to dangerously high blood pressure and if left unchecked can lead to a stroke. Iain has been dysreflexic several times. The first episode was caused by an ingrown toenail. It is terrifying.
1200 people per year are paralysed in the UK by spinal cord injury. 20% of patients discharged from spinal injury centres are clinically depressed.
Long term rehabilitation and continuing support from friends and community are crucial. Current research points to the need for intensive physiotherapy and specialised equipment which will enable Iain to maintain his range of motion and build on the gains he has made so far in hospital. There have been promising ‘flickers’ of movement in both his biceps and in his right wrist and, just this week, several fingers!
A comfortable wheelchair, modified car, along with the house adaptations that are supported by the NHS, will be amongst the items funds raised will be put towards to enable Iain to enjoy independence and a fulfilling life in spite of his injury.
Iain’s friends, family….and complete strangers touched by his story, are coming together to run 100 miles on 17th December 2016, close to his discharge date, to raise funds for the care Iain will continue to need. It will be a show of positivity, strength, hope and community to show Iain he is not alone in facing the challenges spinal cord injury brings.
You are invited! You can choose to run or walk a lap/laps of Arthur's Seat (3miles) or share a lap with a friend! We will keep going until, as a team,100 miles is reached. Please pledge a donation on this page, per mile, per lap, whatever you choose! Oh yes , and in honour of Iain's love of bright t-shirts, wear the brightest clothes you have to brighten up the December day!
If you would like to take part, please email Rachel on [email redacted]
or Matthew on [email redacted].
If you would prefer to show your support financially, anything you give will be put to equipment and services prioritised by Iain and his care team. Please give generously.
THANK YOU. See you on 17th December at 9.30am! Spread the word!
With love from
Team Iain
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