London Marathon challenge for Horsham man who sustained spinal cord injury putting up Christmas lights
(from the newsroom, West Sussex County Times 24/4/19)

A man from Horsham who sustained a spinal cord injury while putting up some Christmas lights in 2017 is set to take part in the London Marathon. Wheelchair user Edward Bridger-Stille will take on the challenge and hopes to raise £7,000 for the charity, Aspire.

He said: “I wanted to take part in the London Marathon to raise money as six people every day are told they will never walk again. Aspire is there to help pick up the pieces of their lives.

Edward spent seven months in hospital quietly realising that he would never walk again. “This was a massive blow but the support I had from my family and friends has been beyond extraordinary,” he added.

“The nursing staff at Brighton and the Spinal Injury Centre at Salisbury were, quite frankly, magical. Life continues and for me, my wife is everything.”

“I owe a debt to her and my children (and spaniels) without whose unfaltering support, I certainly would not have made it this far.”

The event will be a huge challenge for Edward, who has never taken part in a marathon before. The only fundraiser he has done previously is a Tough Mudder which he found, frankly, difficult.

In fact, most of his family fell over laughing when he said he was thinking about doing a marathon!

However, Edward’s fundraising has been going so well that he keeps having to raise his target and has so far raised over £6,000 for Aspire who provide practical help and support to people who have been paralysed by spinal cord injury.

Andrew Ogierman, Aspire’s challenge events manager, said: “Our 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon runners have worked really hard over the last few months to ensure they are ready for their big day on the streets of London.”

Postscript

Ultimately, Edward raised over £10,000 for Aspire.