Back-Up.
    In the beginning
    I can't give Back-Up to much praise really. Back-Up gave me something to look forward to. An opportunity to get outdoors again. Before my accident I'd led a very active lifestyle. I was a rock climber, and I used to train four or five times a week. Then at weekends I would be off to climb anywhere between Scotland and Cornwall. As you can probably imagine, that way of living was going to be hard to replace. Through Back-Up I had the opportunity to try out a wide variety of activities to find out if there was anything I could actually enjoy now that I was a wheelchair user. As you'll see from the rest of my Website, I did find quite a few things!


    1998 Multi-activity group

    The first course I did with Back-Up was on one of their multi-activity weeks at The Calvert Trust in the Lake District. We tried many sports including; paragliding, abseiling, dinghy sailing, canoeing, and even got to the top of one of the local hills (the wonderful belvedere of Latrigg that overlooks Keswick, Derwent Water and Lake Bassenthwaite). It was sailing that I was immediately interested in. Once I'd had the opportunity of sailing along with the breeze in my hair and the spray in my face, I thought to myself - Yes, I'd like some more of this. That's what I think is the most important thing that Back-Up offers to people. They provide the opportunity. An opening. Often people in wheelchairs will avoid active sports, believing they will not be able to participate, or they won't be able to do it independently or do it 'properly'. With Back-Up you realise there is an alternative way of looking at things. Don't say to yourself, "I can't do that" ask yourself "How can I do that"

    Life after spinal injury
    Following my rock climbing accident, it was through Back-Up that I realised I could still participate in a wide range of outdoor activities. The Charity does a tremendously important job. A great many people have found their support invaluable in helping to revive their flagging self-esteem. The world can seem a frightening place to a person recovering from a spinal injury. It just doesn't seem possible that you could sail a dinghy on your own, or go water skiing, or scuba diving, or paragliding, or canoeing, or quad bike riding, or pilot a glider! Back-Up gives the opportunity to do all of these things and a lot more. Once someone has sailed across a lake single handed or skied down a slope, then to get a job, to ski with friends or to live independently may not seem quite so daunting. Since those early days with Back-Up I have continued to be involved with them. I have been a group leader on quite a few of the multi-activity courses in the Lake District. I have raised money for them via a sponsored sky dive. I've helped them at the Ski Show at the Birmiingham NEC and other promotional events and this year (1999) I'm a group leader on the ski trip to Colorado, USA. I feel that I got so much out of those first experiences when I had only just come out of hospital, I now enjoy putting something back in. It's great to see others getting that same thrill when they realise there is life after spinal injury.

     

    Crowded Colorado!! Not.

     

    Why does Back-Up exist?
    Back-Up is a registered charity and its aim is to encourage individuals with spinal cord injuries to become reintegrated into the community and regain motivation, inspiration and independence through sporting activities. Back-Up was started by Mike Nemesvary, a former British and European Freestyle Skiing Champion who broke his neck in a trampoline accident in 1985. This left him paralysed wit only very little arm movement. The skiing world was wonderfully supportive to him, an appeal was started and from this Back-Up was born. Averages of 700 people a year, like Mike, suffer a spinal cord injury by breaking their backs or necks. It can happen to anyone at any time, but it usually occurs with the young and active, and the injuries are commonly sustained byroad traffic accidents and sporting pursuits. These accidents can happen at any time to anyone and there is no cure.

 

    How does Back-Up operate?
    Back-Up needs support with money and time. Money is needed for specially adapted equipment, specific courses and subsidies for those who would otherwise not e able to benefit. As all Back-Up courses are fully integrated with equal numbers of people with spinal cord injuries and able-bodied "Buddies", Back-Up also needs people who are prepared to give up their time and resources. Major private sector companies find that the self development aspects of courses attended by some of their employees as Buddies are of tremendous benefit, particularly as Back-Up's policy of total integration increases understanding for all concerned. During 1998 Back-Up had approximately 150 placements of wheelchair users on their courses. One of the participants became the National Disabled Water-Ski Champion. There is close liaison with the eleven spinal injury units around the country, including Stoke Mandeville, and from the feedback received from beneficiaries, it is evident there is a true need for an organisation like Back-Up.

Winter Park 1999

    What can YOU do?
    Paraplegic, tetriplegic or interested in helping as a 'Buddie' - contact them now. If you would like to know more about Back-Up, or would like to help in some way, you can contact them at the following addresses:

     

    Back-Up
    The Business Village
    Broomhill Road
    London SW18 4JQ

    Telephone: 0181 875 1805
    Fax: 0181 870 3619
    Email: back-up@backuptrust.org.uk

     

    Visit the Back-Up Website at:
    www.backuptrust.org.uk


    "Back-Up is a registered charity founded in 1986 to facilitate sporting and recreational pursuits for spinally injured men and women."