While the current situation is far from ideal, it’s been refreshing to see the positive and truly inspiring stories that are coming from a world of lockdowns, limited exercise and restricted freedom.
The most notable one was of course Britain’s Captain Tom Moore who set out to raise £1,000 for our fantastic NHS workers by walking 100 laps of his garden but has since ended up with £28 million (by our latest count). We’ve also since seen 90 year-old Highlander, Margaret Payne, set off to climb the equivalent height of her local 731-metre mountain, Suilven.
“The former professional rugby player fractured multiple vertebrae … leading doctors to warn that he may never walk again”
Just like Margaret, quadriplegic Ed Jackson found inspiration from the heroic work of Captain Tom and has set himself an equally monumental task; to climb the height of Everest, and back down again, all from the stairs in his parents’ home. That’s around 89,000 steps, or 2,783 times up and down his staircase – something Ed hopes to complete in 3 to 4 days.
In 2017, the former professional rugby player fractured multiple vertebrae in his spine, leading doctors to warn that he may never walk again. However, after ditching his walking aid two years ago, Ed’s looking to quite literally step up the challenge.
Ed’s raising money for three charities that are close to him. The first being Wings For Life, which funds vital research into finding a cure for spinal cord injuries, then there’s NHS affiliated charity Forever Friends and finally, Neverest Orthopaedics who are looking to build a new spinal unit in Chitwan, Nepal.
Ed begins his challenge at 07.30 on 21 April and looks to finish at 21.00 on Friday. You’ll be able to follow his progress on Instagram at @edjackson8. If you’d like to donate money towards Ed’s cause, then head over to his Virgin Money Giving page. Best of luck Ed!
