It’s one of the most incredible projects that anyone has undertaken to raise funds for The Murray Parish Trust.
The Gobi 500 challenge will see the unstoppable Alex Lewis, quadruple amputee, cycle 500 kilometres across the Gobi desert and Mongolian plains in a specially designed handcycle over ten days in July 2022. (This event was due to take place in July 2021 but due to the ongoing situation with Covid-19 it has been postponed to next year)
This incredible adventure will only be made possible through the University of Southampton students and staff building an all-new, solar powered, desert ready handcycle, capable of being powered, driven and steered by Alex.
The Wild Wheelchairs Project, founded by David Collinson and Alex Lewis, is all about inspiring people to reach their goals irrespective of the obstacles put before them. In 2019 the team undertook an expedition in which quadruple amputee Alex Lewis and double amputee Emebet Ale Dires climbed Ethiopia’s tallest mountain, Ras Dashen.
The 2021 expedition to the Gobi desert aims to raise £50,000 for The Murray Parish Trust to further our commitment to advance paediatric emergency care and medicine across the South of England.
The Murray Parish Trust are honoured to be involved with such an innovative and inspired project. The Gobi 500 challenge is a unique event which we hope will not only raise vital funds for the charity but also help to spread awareness and bring hope to anyone facing difficult challenges in their lives and there is no better inspiration for such hope than the story of Alex Lewis. Alex and the team at Wild Wheelchairs have truly shown us that anything is possible and we look forward to following this extraordinary journey with them.
Please do get involved and help us spread the word. You can donate by clicking the button below.
The team at Wild Wheelchairs have several corporate sponsorship opportunities for this event so please do get in touch with David Collinson at [email protected]
Keep an eye on our website and social media for updates on the challenge.
Alex’s Story
In November 2013 Alex Lewis collapsed and was rushed to Winchester Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. He was 33 years old with a partner and son of 3 years old. His only symptom leading up to this was the common cold and a sore throat. Within a few hours of his collapse, his vital organs were being supported mechanically, his blood forced around his body with nora adrenalin. His chances of survival given by the consultants for the first 3 days was less than 3%. He had contracted Strep A Toxic Shock Syndrome, Septicaemia and Necrotising Fasciitis. The immediate required action by doctors and surgeons was a quadruple amputation and extensive skin grafts and facial reconstruction as the infection ravaged his face and mouth as well as his limbs.
Alex spent the next twelve months in hospital with many more ahead for extensive surgery and ongoing rehabilitation to learn to walk again.
Read more about Alex at www.alex-lewis.co.uk
