Strength? This guys got it!

Captain Darling

I heard this guy telling his story on the radio last night. Its fairly inspirational and also very, very sad. I think its a great example of someone taking all the crap life throws at them and not letting it get them down too much.

All i can say is fair play!

For over a decade Mark Pollock was known as an inspiration, an adventure athlete competing in the world’s harshest environments despite being completely blind.

As part of regaining his identity after losing his sight he chose to take on spectacular challenges. He has survived the sub-zero temperatures of Antarctica as he raced to the South Pole over 43 days. He suffered the scorching heat of the Gobi Desert, completing six marathons in one week in “The Race of No Return”. He has competed in races on the frozen Arctic Ocean at the North Pole, through the desert lowlands of the Syrian African Rift Valley to the Dead Sea and at altitude at Everest base camp. He also has two Commonwealth Games medals for rowing under his belt.

In mid-2010, Mark’s business was thriving with a full calendar of motivational speaking events ahead. He was in the process of writing his second book and he was due to be married.



On the night of the 2nd of July 2010 everything changed. He fell from a second story window fracturing his skull, some ribs and breaking his back in a number of places. Mark was taken to intensive care where injuries such as bleeds on his brain and a suspected torn aorta one by one healed becoming less and less significant beside the fact that Mark could not feel or move anything below his belly button. An MRI confirmed damage to his spinal cord where two of his vertebrae had burst in the fall. Mark was transferred to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville in England, where spinal surgeons stabilized the bones in his spine with metal rods.

Mark spent 7 months suffering an onslaught of kidney and heart infections, which brought weeks of temperatures and pain and a 3 stone weight loss. Mark’s bones eventually healed but medicine can do nothing to repair a damaged spinal cord and Mark was discharged to The National Rehabilitation Hospital in Ireland in February 2011.

There are sponsored runs organised around the country for him:

The night time event is being held simultaneously in Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Galway at 7:30pm on 16th November. We want as many people to engage in this worthwhile event to help raise funds to assist with the capital and ongoing costs associated with Mark Pollock's spinal injury.

More about it here: http://markpollocktrust.org/the-mark-pollock-trust

His story is definitely a lesson for us all not to take life for granted and to get the most out of it.

Oranage2

What a inspiration.

Coriolanus

Not what I was expecting.

ghostchant

Heard him give a talk at an event I was at a couple of years ago. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak about his life, do it.

MrJoeSoap

Saw him on the Late Late Show last year with his partner, incredible man altogether.

Naos

Kind of expected some form of Irish Batman but none the less, fair play to him.

FatherLen

yeah fair play to him. it would take a lot of strength to keep going after that.

Captain Darling

He was fighting for ages to overcome any impediment blindness put in front of him and then he gets this thrown at him. The dude has some strenght indeed.

Lord Derpington

OP title is is bad choice.. an hero means something completely different

urban dictionary

Captain Darling

greenfly wrote: »

OP title is is bad choice.. an hero means something completely different

urban dictionary

Changed!

I'm not up with the internet cool kids.

Abi

Captain Darling wrote: »

Changed!

I'm not up with the internet cool kids.

It's strength


Great article though, he is an inspiration

seanybiker

Jaysus. Fair play to him.

Captain Darling

Abi wrote: »

It's strength


Great article though, he is an inspiration

I heard his story about the trip to the South Pole before and it was just amazing what he accomplished.

Saila

what station and time/program was it on, might be a podcast or something?

Captain Darling

Saila wrote: »

what station and time/program was it on, might be a podcast or something?

He was on Matt Cooper last night around half six i think.

Unique User Name

I met him when I was working for an event management company a few years back. One of the nicest guys you could meet, very down to earth and just takes all of these challenges in his stride. I'd very rarely call someone inspirational but this guy truely is.

Wertz

yeah that was pretty shocking to hear that man's plight last night. I recall hearing him on some yrs back when he was just back from the south pole and even then I was astounded by his will to succeed.
But to break your back whilst being blind and still have the will to carry on and see it as a challenge? Anyone that whinges about their "problems" in the face of what this man has and is getting over, really needs to look at themselves, and I'd include my own sorry self in that.
How the hell do you get used to being in a wheelchair for the rest of your days without being able to see?
The will to overcome that he possesses is almost alien to me...

Captain Darling

Wertz wrote: »

yeah that was pretty shocking to hear that man's plight last night. I recall hearing him on some yrs back when he was just back from the south pole and even then I was astounded by his will to succeed.
But to break your back whilst being blind and still have the will to carry on and see it as a challenge? Anyone that whinges about their "problems" in the face of what this man has and is getting over, really needs to look at themselves, and I'd include my own sorry self in that.
How the hell do you get used to being in a wheelchair for the rest of your days without being able to see?
The will to overcome that he possesses is almost alien to me...

Yeah, that was it. He said last night it wouldnt be too bad to be crippled if he wasnt blind. He'd handle it.

As it is, he wouldnt even admit that he was going to be crippled for the rest of his life. He said that he will get going again, maybe not walking fully, but he see's himself improving, and thats half the battle!

WesternNight

Forgive me for resurrecting a 4-month-old thread, but I thought I'd leave these here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFNoJxv7tso

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qREhcx3jVWE

sparksfly

This for me really puts a new perspective on things that I moan about. This guy is brave beyond words.

Wibbs

He's an amazing person indeed. Incredible strength of will.

Wertz wrote: »

Anyone that whinges about their "problems" in the face of what this man has and is getting over, really needs to look at themselves, and I'd include my own sorry self in that.

It's damn good to get some perspective alright Wertz. Seems lacking in many today whinging about that current meme "first world problems". At the same time W people shouldn't be so quick to beat themselves up either. One man's "meh" is another mans crisis. I'm sure there are things you went through that would have had me fold like a cheap suit and vice versa. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, spotting them is the trick.