TWO Old Swinford Hospital school leavers will be taking on a 90-mile trek in honour of a former student who tragically died following a rugby accident that left him paralysed.
Joseph Wood and his cousin Ben Sherwood, both aged 18, have launched a fundraiser in support of the charity Trust PA, which is researching treatments for spinal cord injury (SCI).
The charity is named after ex-student Paul-André Blundell, who sustained a serious neck injury during a rugby tackle in 2001, which left him paralysed from the chin down. He was only able to breathe using a ventilator. After making progress in the spinal rehab unit, he tragically died five months later from a blood clot at the age of 26.
The two will be walking from Keynsham Rugby Club near Bristol – the former rugby club of Paul-André - to Old Swinford Hospital school over the Bank Holiday weekend (August 28 – 30).
Joseph said: “In the OSH awards this year I was delighted to win the P-A Blundell Prize for Sportsmanship & Endeavour.
“Being curious to find out about the person whose name the prize is awarded in, I quickly searched the internet and found out that Paul-André Blundell (P-A to all that knew him), was a former pupil of OSH who, having left OSH, suffered a spinal cord injury following a tackle in a rugby game.
“I decided that I would take the opportunity to raise funds for the charity set up in his name which is dedicated to helping fund pioneering treatment for the repair of permanent paralysis from a spinal cord injury.
“Having spoken to my cousin Ben Sherwood, we decided that we would really challenge ourselves and walk from P-A's former rugby club and his school.
“We have estimated that it will be somewhere between 85 and 90 miles and, using our Duke of Edinburgh Award skills, have planned the route and are aiming to complete the challenge in just three days, walking for between ten and 12 hours per day.
“We have been in regular contact with P-A's Mum and Dad, Gerri and Rob, throughout the planning and they have been fantastic. They have updated the P-A Trust website to publicise our challenge and fundraising and we are meeting with them, some former OSH pupils who live locally and Craig Wetton, the Chairman of Keynsham Rugby Football Club, on the Friday evening before we start walking early on Saturday 28th August.
“Both Ben and I, who have both played for OSH and Stourbridge Colts RFC, know that the challenge we are committed to will be just that - a real challenge - but we are determined to honour the memory of P-A by making it a success.”
People can donate to the fundraiser here.
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