Doing the Impossible. - I want your money

Three years ago I was involved in an accident which left me paralysed from the armpits downwards. (Current diagnosis: Spinal injury, T2 incomplete, Frankel C for the technically inclined.) I am now wheelchair bound and the doctors have said that I will never walk or stand unaided.

Remap is a national charity that makes special items for people who need them. The items are impossible to get from any other source. Some of the items they have made can be seen on their web pages at http://www.remap.org.uk. They do the “impossible” at no cost to their customers.

Like many good causes, their traditional sources of funding are being stressed by the current financial situation and they need more money from other sources in order to continue providing special aids to their customers.

Soon, like Remap, I am going to do the impossible. I am going to stand upright for a minute. Sixty full seconds from getting off my wheelchair seat to my rear end touching the seat cushion again.

The Frankel C bit in my diagnosis means I have "no useful controllable muscle activity" below my armpit level injury so the experts say that it is “impossible” for me to stand.

I will get myself into an upright position unassisted. For safety reasons my knees will be supported but once upright my hands will be no higher than my shoulders and will not provide any vertical support. I will hold on to a rail to prevent falling forward. Apart from that my body will be unsupported.

The task is not trivial for me and it is not certain that I can do it. I will be allowed five attempts at “standing for a minute” before the attending physiotherapist will stop me from completing the stand.

The attempt will take place within the gym at the Erith Leisure Centre, Erith, Kent. The attempt will be recorded and the video will be seen via the Internet.

Please sponsor me to “Stand for a minute”. All funds raised will be given to Remap and will be used to enable them to continue “doing the impossible” for their customers.

People who do not want to use use the internet are welcome to contact Remap at D9, Chaucer Business Park, Kemsing, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 6YU  with your donation quoting “Doing the impossible”.

Further details and progress reports can be found at http://remap.problemsresolved.org.uk/ .

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Also thank you for reading this plea.

Dave Eate