Tuesday 21 July 2015

Sir Ludwig Guttmann

Ludwig Guttmann, the eldest child of the family, was born in Tost, within Upper Silesia, Germany (now Toszek, Poland) on 3 July 1899.
'Poppa' statue at Stoke Mandeville.


Guttmann first encountered a patient with a spinal cord injury in 1917, while he was volunteering at the Accident Hospital in Konigshutte. The patient was a coal miner who later died of sepsis. Guttmann started his medical studies in April 1918 at the University of Breslau. He transferred to the University of Freiburg in 1919 and received his Doctorate of Medicine in 1924.
By 1933, Guttmann was considered the top neurosurgeon in Germany. With the arrival of the Nazis in power, Jews were banned from practising medicine professionally and he was allowed to work only at the Jewish Hospital in Breslau, where he became director of the hospital. Following the violent attacks on Jewish people and properties during Kristallnacht on 9 November 1938, Guttmann ordered his staff to admit anyone without question. The following day he justified his decision on a case-by-case basis with the Gestapo. Out of 64 admissions, 60 patients were saved from arrest and deportation to concentration camps.
In early 1939, Guttmann and his family left Germany because of the Nazi persecution of the Jews. An opportunity for escape arose when the Nazis provided him with a visa and ordered him to travel to Portugal to treat a friend of the Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar.
In September 1943 the British government asked Dr Guttmann to establish the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. When the centre opened on 1 February 1944, Guttmann was appointed its director (a position he held until 1946). As director of the UK's first specialist unit for treating spinal injuries, he believed that sport was a major method of therapy for injured military personnel helping them build up physical strength and self-respect.
Guttmann became a naturalised citizen of the United Kingdom in 1945. He organised the first Stoke Mandeville Games for disabled persons on 28 July 1948, the same day as the start of the London 1948 Summer Olympics. Dr Guttmann used the term paraplegic games for national games held in order to encourage his patients to take part. This came to be known as the "Paralympics," which only later became the "Parallel Games" and included other disabilities.
His vision of an international games the equivalent of the Olympic Games themselves was realized in 1960 when the International Stoke Mandeville Games were held alongside the official 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Known at the time as the 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, and organised under the aegis of the World Federation of Ex-servicemen (an International Working Group on Sport for the Disabled), they are now recognized as the first Paralympic Games.
As "Neurological Surgeon in charge of the Spinal Injuries Centre at the Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Stoke Mandeville", he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1950 King's Birthday Honours. On 28 June 1957, he was made an Associate Officer of the Venerable Order of Saint John.
He was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 1966, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Guttmann gave many injured soldiers and disabled people a purpose in life, a selfless man who enhanced people’s lives when many had written them off, simply masking their pain with drugs rather than make the effort to rehabilitate.Introducing physiotherapy as a medical treatment and making others above realise how imperative that was. 
All of this and the ethos of inclusion and giving people that purpose in life is probably why I can get into a football stadium today, probably part of the reason we have equality law in the workplace, probably why you see ‘Positive About Disability’ at the bottom of most pieces of paper in any business, and he is definitely the reason we see the Paralympics every four years.
Ludwig Guttmann died on the 18th of March, 1980 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, so much more than the neurologist he set out to be in his life. Even with his honours I still believe he’s an unsung hero, a global one at that.
On the 7th March 2014, BBC2 showed us the life of this great man, excellently played by Eddie Marsan in the entertaining drama 'The Best Of Men' and I implore you to go and look it up.
Far from delusions of grandeur of which he was accused, Guttmann didn't care for his own importance or well being, he cared for the importance and well being of others.
Thank you, Poppa.



(All dates confirmed, courtesy of Wiki)

Saturday 4 July 2015

On The Cusp of Something Great






I’m not sure why but this weekend feels like a half way point, for me. We’ve got 8 Weeks (!) until our ‘Mile for Muscles’ and yet I started to plan this in September last year. I have no reasoning for feeling like this but it feels good. 

As you’ve seen I have been asking people two questions and posted their participant profiles online. Who are you? Why are you taking part in mile for muscles? As I’ve said before now, these are entirely up to that individual and the answers are unedited (as you would have seen from Phil’s).

I’ve been so impressed with so many friends and family and I feel very humbled by some of the things that have been said. I just want people to know about these conditions and try to help a little, that’s all.
Michelle is now part of a running club and I couldn’t be prouder, as I said already, it doesn’t matter how slow she runs, she’s faster than the Michelle from one month ago. Our friend Marie started to text me last weekend to tell me that she wanted to organise a raffle and take all the hassle of it away from me. Marie posted about that on social media, said who and what it was for and had gifts at her feet within minutes. Paul Adams is cracking on with the music element for ‘Music for Muscles’ and Val, the landlady of the Aristocrat is always asking what she can do for us and if I’m ok with everything. My father-in-law, John, will be making sandwiches and more to keep everyone fed on the day and with all this I’m starting to feel a sense of unity. This really hit home with me after I posted a profile last weekend of my friend Hayley and Nathan Still put the comment ‘Welcome on board’, something so simple but kept me smiling for ages! I really enjoy seeing things like that. We are a team and everyone should be celebrated for what they are doing, that means now and on the day, so I second what Nathan said and I say it to all of you with gratitude and heartfelt thanks.

One thing I must put some emphasis on and forgot to last week was the fact that people are travelling to do this and not from just round the corner either. Last weekend I also did profiles on Gray and Jo. Gray will be coming from Lancashire to run his mile and Jo will be coming from West Yorkshire to run her mile, with family in tow too. I think that’s massive and I apologise for not mentioning it before now. 

Runners from all over the UK, incl the fantastic Jo!

Since doing these profiles I’ve had two people get in touch with me that wanted to raise the bar even more, to challenge themselves, to help us. Dean Murray was going to originally cycle a mile on his bike but has now decided to cycle the whole 26 miles and he also wants to try to do this in less than 90 minutes. I’m speaking to MD UK at this minute to get you a cycling shirt, Dean. Thank you!

You may also remember Mark Sammon who I introduced as one of our elite runners. Mark was moved by BBC newsnight this week which featured the story about Translarna, a drug which needs funding for boys with Duchenne. Mark commented on Facebook, “I watched this tonight and it really brings home the anguish of the parents – we must do more! I have an idea and I’ll message you about it tomorrow.”

Mark, The Marathon Man, with wife, Lou
Like Dean, Mark has challenged himself because he can (his own words), Mark has decided to run a marathon that day. Mark will run 26.2 miles as if he was in London doing it officially and as far as I know, nobody has ever run a marathon for charity in Aylesbury before. Also, Mark wants to add an element of fun and competitiveness to this, he would like to ‘Race the Relay’. Who will be fastest, us or Mark? 
All this information will be added to and adjusted on our team Just Giving page.

So we have a few more elements added to what I hope is a great day and people are really overwhelming me with support and care.

Mark will set off at 11:00 or 12:30 depending on the weather. My daughter, Lucie will start the relay at 12:00 and Dean will set off at 14:00, so we will all, hopefully, finish near the same time.

The hardest part of any charity event, for me, is asking people for donations and money. I must say this has been a little different; I’m arranging lots of different parts of this marathon and that’s great, busy but productive and full of positivity. The problem I have is actually walking but I’m told not to worry as we have a wheelbarrow ready to get me to the finish if needs must. I won’t let that happen.

I’m like the rest of you, I’m in training for a very special day and it bloody hurts. I am trying to walk the last mile of this marathon and it might not seem like much but it is when you can hardly walk at all. A great runner once said to me ‘A challenge is a challenge because it’s relative to that person’. If anyone could add any money or share our page and our story with others then that would be greatly appreciated. The target is set to what it is because that equates to one full week of research paid for by us and I think we can raise that much.

Imagine if a scientist had a 'eureka' moment and that was financed by something we did, together?

“Remember that day in 2015 when we raised that cash and funded that research, which found that treatment, fantastic wasn’t it!”

Thank you all, for everything. 



30/08/15

#MileForMuscles

#CountMeIn

TEXT:-  MMFM92 
             £5, £10, £20  (or any amount)
To:-       70070