STUART IN THE IRISH TIMES

Kathy Sheridan who lives close to us in Kildare recently wrote a fantastic piece on Stuart after visiting him in his apartment in London.
It was recently published in The Irish Times..
See http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2009/0228/1224241959501.html

17 DAYS TO GO...

Can't believe how quickly it has come upon us!!
We have both been doing rigorous workouts in the gym in Clane, thanks to the very generous Westgrove Hotel and them letting us use their facilities.
Between the treadmill, crosstrainers, bikes and the pool it is definately proving painful as we find all these muscles we never knew existed.. It had certainly better pay off as we climb that dreaded mountain on the first day...

ACCOMMODATION..

For accommodation there are plenty of refugios, simple mixed hostels with basic facilities costing a few euros a night operated on a first come- first served basis. We have been warned not to expect these to be like 'normal' hostels, and rather consider them as a better option than sleeping rough. Delightful.

On occasion the beds do fill up before your arrival but we have been reassured that floor space will always be found..

We have a large bag of earplugs as these pictures of the hundreds of people in the same room are some what worrying....

THE 788KM ROUTE..

The Camino de Santiago stretches nearly 800 kilometres (500 miles) from St. Jean-Pied-du-Port near Biarritz in France to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. The route includes the major cities of Pamplona, Burgos and León, the large towns of Logroño in the Rioja, Astorga, and Ponferrada, and hosts of interesting smaller places along the way. It is very varied terrain from crossing over the Pyrenees at over 1500 metres, to the flat, hot plains of the central section.

We are planning to complete a minimum of 25km per day, other than the days crossing the Pyrenees, these will certainly take a little longer!

FUNDRAISING SO FAR...

A big big thank you to everyone who has sponsored us so far.. we are currently nearly at 75% of our target of 4000 euro...

Fundraising target:
€4,000.00
Money raised off-line:
€865.00
Money raised on-line:
€2,045.58
Total Raised:
€2,910.58

Please keep it coming in!

ABOUT STUART..

On Saturday April 5th 2008, a simple tackle in a club rugby game in London left Stuart Mangan, a graduate of Rockwell College and UCC, aged just 24, with a devastating spinal injury. In global terms, Stuart’s injury is the most catastrophic rugby injury seen in recent years. Categorized as C1 Complete, he is completely paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe without a ventilator. Stuart will require 24-hour medical care for the rest of his life.

Dr Fred Middleton of The Royal National Orthopedic Hospital at Stanmore, London says of Stuart: “The level of Stuart's injury at the top of the spinal cord eliminates all voluntary movement in the limbs and trunk including the muscle of breathing. This is the worst cord injury which can occur in sport" Stuart’s life and that of his parents and brothers changed utterly on that fateful day. Physically, Stuart is now dependant for his every basic need, in sharp contrast to how he lived his life before the accident. A talented sportsman with an exciting career ahead in banking, Stuart loved to travel and speaks five languages

In coming to terms with his horrific injury, Stuart has managed to show incredible courage. He is determined to deal positively with his drastically altered circumstances. How can you help ? Stuart’s care will cost millions and quite simply his future is in all our hands. He and his family have been inundated with messages of good will, many wondering just how they can help Stuart deal with the days and years ahead. A fundraising campaign- The Stuart Mangan Appeal - has been launched and each contribution, no matter the size, will help enormously in ensuring Stuart enjoys the best possible quality of life. In this context, an Irish trust fund has been established with the responsibility of managing Stuart’s needs in terms of housing, living, equipment and medical care.

Please support us our fundraising page www.mycharity.ie/event/walkforstuart

100% of all donations will go directly to The Stuart Mangan Appeal.