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Marcus and Monty's Annapurna base camp trek for SIA

When swimming in the sea whilst on holiday in Tenerife with his family for New Year’s Eve, Marcus Rhodes (63) from Cromford in Derbyshire was hit by a wave that left him paralysed from the neck down.

From nearly drowning on the seabed, to spinal surgery and intense rehab, Marcus is now preparing to trek to the Annapurna base camp in Nepal with his son, Monty (26).

On New Year’s Eve in 2013, Marcus decided to go swimming in what looked like a fairly calm sea. When an unexpected wave hit him at the wrong angle, Marcus was thrown to the seabed, sustaining a spinal cord injury which left him paralysed under the water.

Describing the moment he said,

I heard a click and I thought, OK, this doesn’t sound great. Suddenly I had my head in the wave, not being able to turn my head in another direction to breathe, then I realised I was drowning.

Luckily nearby holidaymakers managed to drag the unconscious Marcus out, who woke up on the beach and realised he was paralysed from the neck down. He was taken to a local hospital and eventually flown to Bristol where he underwent an operation to stop his damaged disc from crushing his spinal cord.

Marcus said, “I remember going into the operating theatre and the German surgeon speaking with me. I felt confident about a positive outcome for some reason, although it was touch and go, I found out afterwards. When I woke up, I started to feel some sensation in my fingers and toes.”

marcus spinal injury rehab (2)

Reflecting on his time in rehab, he said, “There were times when it was tough and for the first six months, I kept having these out of body experiences where I didn’t feel as if I was actually where I was – I was actually somewhere up there, not really participating.”

Despite the paralysis, after half a year of intense rehab and physiotherapy, Marcus was lucky enough to regain the majority of his mobility and counts himself lucky to be able to walk again. For many of the 105,000 people with spinal cord injury in the UK today, the damage to the spinal cord results in a permanent loss of mobility.

He said,

I had limited mobility for quite some time. I had to strengthen everything up because I had a huge amount of muscle atrophy, so it took quite some time.

“I’m still on medication for neuropathic pain, so that’s a daily thing, and I suffer from tiredness, but if you look at me, nobody would know that I’d been through that type of accident. So I’m fortunate that it was only a partial issue as opposed to a complete rupture of the spinal cord.”

Nine months after his injury, Marcus joined the board of trustees for Spinal Injuries Association, where he heard the stories of many other people with spinal cord injuries, many of whom live with permanent paralysis, pain, and bladder and bowel problems.

Marcus and his son, Monty, who lives in the Mendips and was 16 at the time of his dad’s accident, are trekking to the Annapurna base camp in Nepal this month to raise money for the charity. They will cover 65km in six days at an average altitude of 2,440m.
As Marcus experiences tingling and numbness in his hands and cold and numbness in his feet, the rocky terrain will be a challenge, but he is keen to get into the mountains.

Marcus said, “The reason why I suggested going with Monty is because I did the Everest base camp trip with my father when he was 70, which was about 15 years ago. That’s the reason why I thought it would be a good idea, plus I thought just the two of us with the Sherpa and the guide would be what I’d prefer so that I can just go at my own pace without having the pressure of going with the group.”

marcus and monty father son photos

Monty said,

My dad loves the mountains, so he’s always wanted to do this, but the accident delayed it by a long, long way.

“It’s worked out really well and it’s nice to do something for the people the charity helps: people in the same situation or a similar situation to my dad, who was very fortunate, so hopefully it can help people in less fortunate situations.”

Every two hours, someone sustains a spinal cord injury in the UK. Spinal Injuries Association supports people with spinal cord injuries to live fulfilled lives which has become increasingly challenging due to failing health, care and support systems.


UPDATE:

  • Marcus and Monty began their trek to Annapurna Base Camp on Thursday 23 October and have to date raised over £19,000 for Spinal Injuries Association.
  • They did it! (Saturday 26 October)

marcus monty annapurna base camp trek holding SIA flag

Donate to Marcus and Monty’s JustGiving page below and support those with SCI to live a fulfilled life: 

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