[horn]

Back in March my girlfriend (and veritable DFBWGC) Hannah was doing some casual core exercises on a pull-up bar when it ripped out of the door frame. She broke her back at T12 level and was instantly paralysed from the waist down. 

No insurance, plus the fact that she can't teach yoga or climbing anymore means she's in a bit of a bad place financially (and physically - the only disabled access property we could find to get her out of hospital is in bloody Wakefield). The NHS did a fine job initially, but now she's out it seems they just want to fill her with drugs, give her a voucher for a shit wheelchair and leave her to it. Physiotherapy (the NHS provide none) and half-decent wheelchairs don't come cheap. A lightweight wheelchair suitable for pushing more than a couple of hundred metres from your door is like £2000 minimum. For an off-roader that'll get her off the paths and into the hills again, you won't get much change out of 4 kupriks. Ouch.

Soooo... some of Hannah's friends have set up a charitable trust for her to try and raise some much needed cash. Hannah's Equipment and Therapy Fund: http://www.heatfund.org.uk/

The first event coming up is the Ben to Blanc Challenge: A sponsored run/cycle/climb from the top of Ben Nevis to the top of Mont Blanc over 15 days -  Andy and Jack were planning to do it anyway for some perverse kind of fun, but now it's the perfect excuse to raise some sponsorship money! They've also relaxed their luddite suspicions and started a blog: http://ben2blancchallenge.wordpress.com/ Check it out, it's slightly amusing.

Please take some time to read http://www.heatfund.org.uk/ and donate if you can, even if it's just pence it's all appreciated.
But before you do that, can you all go and make sure your bars and fingerboards are solidly attached  you really don't want this to happen to you.

[benpritch]

I have known Hannah and Si for a few years now and I count them both as really really good friends. What has happened to Hannah could happen to any of us and in the current climate of cuts etc I can only begin to imagine what kind of financial difficulties will be ahead of them.

Even if you don't know Hannah please can you visit her page and think about making a donation, she really is a diamond.

[SA Chris]

Will do!

Horn, have you got in touch with these guys? http://www.backuptrust.org.uk/Home

There was a group of them learning to sit ski at the resort where I worked in the US, seems like a great organistation.

[rehab21]

I have known Hannah and Si for a few years now and I count them both as really really good friends. What has happened to Hannah could happen to any of us and in the current climate of cuts etc I can only begin to imagine what kind of financial difficulties will be ahead of them.

Even if you don't know Hannah please can you visit her page and think about making a donation, she really is a diamond.

So unlucky, and the least deserving person this could have happened to. Proof that Karma does not apply could not be any clearer.

[magpie]

The website seems to be down at the moment?

[SA Chris]

Works for me @14:37

[magpie]

Maybe it's just me, I get this when I click either of the links or type it in:

Network Error (dns_unresolved_hostname)

Your requested host "www.heatfund.org.uk" could not be resolved by DNS. 
 
For assistance, contact your network support team. 

[Snoops]

Maybe it's just me, I get this when I click either of the links or type it in:

Network Error (dns_unresolved_hostname)

Your requested host "www.heatfund.org.uk" could not be resolved by DNS. 
 
For assistance, contact your network support team. 

Works for me.

[Nibile]

Horrible news.
Since your first post in the NNFN thread, it really stuck to my mind, and the lack of updates wasn't encouraging. Still this post brings a very hard reality.
Really sorry.
Will happily donate.

[benpritch]

bump

[dk]

Couldn't recommend back-up more they are a truly great charity, they allowed my girlfriend to get involved in ski-karting, paragliding and sailing. They are also a really welcoming community

I'd also recommend:
http://www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk/ 

[horn]

Will do!

Horn, have you got in touch with these guys? http://www.backuptrust.org.uk/Home

There was a group of them learning to sit ski at the resort where I worked in the US, seems like a great organistation.

Couldn't recommend back-up more they are a truly great charity, they allowed my girlfriend to get involved in ski-karting, paragliding and sailing. They are also a really welcoming community

I'd also recommend:
http://www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk/

Back Up looks mint, and there's another charity called the Calvert Trust that do all sorts of outdoorsy stuff. We'll be straight onto them as soon as Han's got a bit of energy and fitness up. It's all about finding alternative sports we can do together. Gonna be hard to let go of the climbing, that's pretty much all we've done for years. I did suggest early on that we should go and climb ElCap, that seems a fairly common paraplegic activity to do, and we wouldn't really have to change our usual big-wall style, but she was all like  She really wants to get back into swimming again, and hand-biking looks fun, and sea kayaking too. Loads of stuff to do, just need to wake up the power of the mind and get creative. Karen Darke sent her a copy of her book, it's inspiring to see what can be done if you really want it, and Hannah's injury is much lower than Karen's

[SA Chris]

A friend of mine (does anyone know Ian Lowry from Leeds? Neil's (Nibs) brother) broke his back in an accident in the Alps a few years back and is really into sit skiing now. I think he has moved to the States now though and I've lost touch, but I could probably track him down if you need advice.

[horn]

So unlucky, and the least deserving person this could have happened to. Proof that Karma does not apply could not be any clearer.

So true, she was always such a safety conscious climber. I've seen her romp up a multipitch E5 on the second, then back off a Severe on lead cos the gear was a bit shit. I keep thinking it should be me in the chair, not her. But of course there's no such thing as 'deserving'. Some shit just happens.

It ain't worth dwelling on the could have's and should have's, just deal with it as it happens and try to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. 2 days after the accident I went home to find my housemate had put up a bar in the exact same way, just expanded into the frame, no cups. Similar thing happened to my mate's sister as well, bar just twisted into the frame, doing some pullups, ripped out, landed in a laundry basket! Then a couple of weeks later another friend puts up a fingerboard and then tears it down on his first set of pull ups, landing on his arse. At best it's embarassing, and at worst...well, shiiiit....

[tomtom]

A friend of mine (does anyone know Ian Lowry from Leeds? Neil's (Nibs) brother) broke his back in an accident in the Alps a few years back and is really into sit skiing now. I think he has moved to the States now though and I've lost touch, but I could probably track him down if you need advice.

I've got Nibs number somewhere if you need any help tracking down etc..

[horn]

Horrible news.
Since your first post in the NNFN thread, it really stuck to my mind, and the lack of updates wasn't encouraging. Still this post brings a very hard reality.
Really sorry.
Will happily donate.

Cheers Nibs!
yeah, lack of updates was down to too much time in hospital with no internet and far too much on my mind.
Sorry, I don't know you, but how's your bro doing? did it take him long to get back into sport?

[horn]

Maybe it's just me, I get this when I click either of the links or type it in:

Network Error (dns_unresolved_hostname)

Your requested host "www.heatfund.org.uk" could not be resolved by DNS. 
 
For assistance, contact your network support team. 

dunno what's going on there? maybe the site was being updated at the time?

[SA Chris]

I've got Nibs number somewhere if you need any help tracking down etc..

I've got it too, not spoken to him in years. Just to clarify horn, Nibs isn't Nibile. Two very different people.

[tomtom]

I've got Nibs number somewhere if you need any help tracking down etc..

I've got it too, not spoken to him in years. Just to clarify horn, Nibs isn't Nibile. Two very different people.

Indeed Nibs is Leeds (ish) based, Nibile Italy based..

[horn]

I've got Nibs number somewhere if you need any help tracking down etc..

I've got it too, not spoken to him in years. Just to clarify horn, Nibs isn't Nibile. Two very different people.

Indeed Nibs is Leeds (ish) based, Nibile Italy based..

Ooops, my bad. Was wondering how a northerner could look so tanned!

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Maybe it's just me, I get this when I click either of the links or type it in:

Network Error (dns_unresolved_hostname)

Your requested host "www.heatfund.org.uk" could not be resolved by DNS. 
 
For assistance, contact your network support team. 

dunno what's going on there? maybe the site was being updated at the time?

Still down for me.

[Nibile]

 
Jesus was getting confused!

[magpie]

Similar thing happened to my mate's sister as well, bar just twisted into the frame, doing some pull ups, ripped out, landed in a laundry basket! Then a couple of weeks later another friend puts up a fingerboard and then tears it down on his first set of pull ups, landing on his arse. At best it's embarrassing, and at worst...well, shiiiit....

I bruised my coccyx really badly when exactly the same thing happened to my pull up bar and I landed on bare floorboards, it's terrifying to think how landing slightly differently could have made it a totally different story.

I'm still getting a network error but it might be something to do with being in work.  I'll try at home.

[horn]

Wooo! Hannah's getting interviewed on radio Leeds this morning. She's a bit nervous and embarrassed and its gonna be live. Eeeek!

[danm]

I can't help but feel that your strongest weapon in your armoury for the future is the amazing positive attitude the comes across in your posts - I know that I wouldn't be able to display such fortitude in the face of adversity. Best of luck with the fundraising!