Martin Hibbert, 44, rides a specially made handbike
A father paralyzed in the Manchester Arena bombings prepares to climb Kilimanjaro to raise money for others with spinal injuries.
Martin Hibbert, 44, was paralyzed from the waist down when he and his teenage daughter were among the hundreds injured in the terrorist attack on May 22, 2017.
He is now planning to bring a Paralympic torch from the London Games to the highest mountain in Africa in September and hopes to raise £ 1 million for the Spinal Injuries Association.
Mr. Hibbert said: “I want to turn a horrific act of terror into a force for better good.”
The soccer agent will use a custom-built handbike for the seven- to ten-day challenge, which he was inspired to create after learning that only one in three people with spinal cord injuries is treated in specialist centers.
He told the PA news agency: “We thought we were going to try to do something within the Paralympic year to highlight that disabled people are not being written off. We can still do a lot and are still strong and anything can be achieved with the right help and support. “
Since his recovery, Mr. Hibbert has worked with the Spinal Injuries Association as a trustee to provide hope, confidence and practical skills to other people who have been paralyzed from spinal cord injuries.
Mr. Hibbert was paralyzed from the waist down in the Manchester Arena bombing (Cloud Force Marketing / Sam Manton)
“I just don’t like being told that I can’t do something or that I can’t achieve something,” he said.
“When I was told I wasn’t going to leave it was a case of, well, I’m alive, I still have my brain, my arms, and my hands so there is still a lot I can do.”
He is accompanied on the ascent by Rob Grew, who ran into the Manchester Arena immediately after the explosion to help the seriously injured victims, and Stuart Wildman, the head nurse of the Major Trauma Center at Salford Royal, who was treating Mr. Hibbert when he was was taken after his injury.
He said, “It will be amazing to do with these two people and I think there will be many tears.”
He is a trustee of the Spinal Injuries Association (Cloud Force Marketing / Sam Manton).
Mr Hibbert said he was keen to hit the gym again after it reopened next month and start a special fitness program to prepare for the trip.
Nik Hartley OBE, Executive Director of the Spinal Injuries Association, said: “Martin is a football-loving family man whose life unexpectedly and forever changed one night in Manchester.
“With determination and determination, he has rebuilt his life and now supports other injured people.
“Too often people with disabilities are viewed as second-class citizens, but Martin’s incredible rise is a telling statement about why disability shouldn’t define achieving one’s goals.”
