Army Major Phil Packer began the London Marathon when everyone else did, but his doctor will only allow him to walk two miles a day, so he is expected to finish on Saturday, 13 days after starting the race. Last year Packer was seriously injured in Iraq and was told he probably would never walk again. However, he is walking the marathon on crutches to raise money for Help for Heroes, a British organization that supports wounded veterans.
Packer’s goal is to raise £1 million; he has so far raised over half the amount. Link -via Fark
The marathon is only part of his project, he says. In February, he rowed the English Channel, and next month, he plans to climb El Capitan, one of America's iconic mountaineering sites. It's a 3,000-foot vertical rock formation in California.
The idea to take on the three challenges for charity came to him while he was in a hospital for more than four months last year following a serious injury in Iraq, he says.
"I needed and wanted to be able to move on in life," he says. "I wanted to do something for other personnel who had been wounded.
"I don't want to be helped. I want to help other people. Not that I'm not grateful, but ... you know," he says, an apologetic smile forming as he makes his way up the north bank of the Thames River, along the marathon course. "I really want to be able to help people."
Packer’s goal is to raise £1 million; he has so far raised over half the amount. Link -via Fark
It's great to see this guy do something like this, but he's not actually running the same marathon as everybody else. Terry Fox ran halfway across Canada on one real leg and one artificial. He didn't try to run the Boston Marathon. He found his own path. It is a bit ludicrous to say this guy's running the marathon when it ends thirteen days before he can reach the finish line. But it is a definable goal. I think he should have started 13 days early, just so he could cross while the race was still going. More of an impact, I would think.
Good for him, though. The other challenges sound way more interesting to me.
And to those of you who think that his "running" the marathon is sad or pathetic or whatever- get a life. I am impressed. He is finding his own way to both come to terms with and make some positive come from his disability.
Oh, and by the by, we "cripples" prefer the term disabled.
This guy is so much more of a man than nay of us leaving messages on an internet site, or in fact most men!
What he has lost, and given to others is absolutely amazing!
If this guy can do it, we all can!
Keep trooping!
You along with a lot of other people seem to think that "Three hots and a cot" are all there is to the military. What about the endless months spent away from home missing birthdays, anniversary's, first steps taken, holidays missed, baby's born and family that passes away? These brave soldiers, of whom I count myself honored to be one, have given much of themselves to support the country they love. Some, myself included, have given 100% and become permanently disabled, while others will never come home alive. This soldier is not looking for his 15 minutes of fame, he is trying to use whatever publicity he can get to support a cause that not only believes in but is a part of. In this world their are citizens and patriots. Patriots EARN the right to enjoy everything their country has to offer, citizens ENJOY everything their country has to offer thanks to the selfless service of PATRIOTS such as this fellow. Are you a Patriot or a Citizen?