Edward Bridger-Stille is taking part in the London Marathon less than two years after he sustained a spinal cord injury whilst putting up some fairy lights for Christmas 2017. Consequently, he found himself in hospital, where “I spent the next seven months quietly realising that that I would never walk again.”

Edward says, “This was a massive blow but the support I had from my family and friends has been beyond extraordinary. 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.”

This will be a huge challenge for Edward, who has never taken part in a marathon before. The only event he has done previously is a Tough Mudder which he found extremely difficult. In fact, most of his family fell over laughing when he said he was thinking about doing a marathon!

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

He says, "Aspire helps many people when they come out of hospital, which is always a very vulnerable time. When I was in hospital I spoke with one of their Independent Living Advisors, who gave me invaluable advice and support.”

Edward’s fundraising has been going so well that he keeps having to raise his target and has so far raised over £6,000 to help people with Spinal Cord Injury.

Help Edward reach his target of £7,000

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