TEAM JONATHAN RANSON

by Sean Mitchell · May 25, 2020

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On Tuesday 19th May, Johnathan will be attempting to hand-cycle a Marathon (42.2km/26miles) around his local area within a 5km radius of his home using a specially adapted hybrid hand-cycle attached to his wheelchair to raise much needed funds for Spinal Injuries Ireland.

Spinal Injuries Ireland are an essential support service for people who have sustained spinal cord injuries and their families, providing a nationwide person centred service to assist people engage fully in society following their injury.

Following his accident in 2014, he spent 6 months in the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dun Laoghaire. This is where he was introduced to Spinal Injuries Ireland. They were his gateway back into society, bringing Johnathan to the Aviva stadium for the Autumn International Guinness Series Ireland Vs Australia match, along with various trips to the IMC cinema in Dun Laoghaire giving him the confidence to engage back into society.

Like many charities, Spinal Injuries Ireland’s fundraising has been completely obliterated. They rely on fundraising for 60% of their operating costs, having already made major cutbacks and cutting their annual budget by 30%. Many of their annual fundraising events have been postponed and therefore are in urgent need of donations.
For many people, isolation is a relatively new concept in the time of Coronavirus, but to a lot of people with spinal cord injuries, isolation is an all too common fact of life.