The Idea - Part One.

Introduction.

My name is Martin Hywood; I’m living with and adjusting to a life with Muscular Dystrophy. I decided to raise funds and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy UK. In 2016 I took on the biggest challenge of my life. The challenge was to ‘Move a Mile for Muscles’ to iconic sporting arenas and events in England. This was to fulfil some dreams of my own and that of others. Despite my condition I pushed myself to the limit both physically and mentally. Lots of family and friends came with me and here is the story of our year… 

The family - Skye, Olivia, Myself, Michelle and Lucie.

With A Little Help From my Friends

I really like to be busy, not necessarily physically but most definitely, mentally.

On the 26th of September 2014, after recently finishing my 'Mile For Muscles' in Leeds I decided to go again and once again I would try to better what I had just conquered. I took to social media and decided that I would try to turn 'I' into 'We'. I was wondering if any of my friends would like to get on-board with an idea I had, which, in essence, seemed quite simple. Would you be able to join me and help me complete an ambition of mine and that was to be part of a Marathon.

It may seem strange to some that as my condition gets worse I have shown more interest in sports that involve just one person, distance or challenging environment. This might stem from my own challenges that I now face, I'm not sure but whatever it is I'm thoroughly enjoying it, the things humans put themselves through to prove a point, never give up and relish on the achievement.

So, back to that Friday night in September, some of you replied to my request that night and there was a theme, I was getting the same reply via Facebook, Twitter and text messages and yet some of you had no idea you were all saying the same thing; Count Me In! Our tag line was born and I was bombarded with it. Through the Autumn and early Winter of 2014 I was already visualising a Marathon in Aylesbury and even had some of the running order worked out already but then I had to think about reserve runners in-case life was life and people had to pull out. Also, I wanted a broad range of people involved,  the event had to be about inclusion, encouragement and fun. Talking about fun, I wanted to bring a musical element to the day too, so in January 2015 I met with old school friend, musician and music promoter, Paul Adams. Typical coffee shop meeting that over ran and ended up with us getting chucked out by our ear. As I was walking back to my car Paul closed the meeting by saying "Yeah, we could call our festival 'Music For Muscles', what do you think?" . That, my friend, fits like a glove.

 Once again as in the previous two years we immediately got support from Val and Gary, the landlady and landlord of our venue and the same from the Stoke Mandeville Stadium, who, once again, had an open arms attitude, so in that respect we were prepared early on.

I started to have more meetings with people to try to make sure they could visualise what I was trying to achieve and how help was imperative to me and others. People came in droves, I went to meet the Aylesbury united walking football team, A Marathon man and friends who wanted to cycle 26 miles and every one of them had their own element of competition to it. Mark Sammon was going to 'Race The Relay' and run his Marathon in a record time, Dean Murray and Wayne Martinig were persuaded by me after Bradley Wiggins took on his hour challenge, to cycle their 26.2 miles in under 90 Minutes, Hayley and Tommy Lloyd scooting round in Super Hero outfits. Then there was Graham and Hannah Cocker running around Stockport, Cheshire, training tied together at the ankle in preparation for the big day, no charity t-shirt, no sign of the fact they were entering into a charity event, no explanation whatsoever why they was tied together. That still makes me smile. That said, it's probably a good time to say what an effort people were making to be here and be part of this too. People were coming from all over England to be part of this and I do mean from all over, Cornwall, Cambridge, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Warwickshire and our great friend, Jo from Yorkshire.

Over the last few months I was burning the candle at both ends and constantly staying in touch with people to make sure they were reassured and everything was still on and it was actually happening. So many people had put the date in their diaries very early on, it was becoming very overwhelming and by that I mean in a supportive, feeling loved, kind of way. 

Family friend, Marie Johnson started up our raffle and little did I know that it would be a massive contributor to our 'Just giving' page, in the end. As well as the board game invented by Sheralee which pretty much instantly raised a few hundred pounds, plus my mum's sweet game too! Thank you, Ladies. 

As we run up to our event I presented at my works town hall meeting and presented to all of my colleagues, it was one of the hardest things I've done. To stand in front of everyone you work with and tell them everything about yourself, I really did open my heart, it felt painful to say some words because I was talking about my own reality and a future I may face and then, at the end, I had to ask for help...

Turns out albeit petrifying, it was a good thing to do as all employee donations would be doubled. The last few weeks I took part in a few radio shows and pod casts and then that was it, it was upon us, Mile For Muscles - Count me In, was here.

30th August 2015.

Of all the days in the year, this was one where I did not want to wake up with any pain or issues with my legs and low and behold my legs where shaking from above the knee, downwards. I could not let anyone know, Michelle kept asking and I said I was fine. I was not bothered about anything else. Reserve runners were in place, bands ready to play, BBQ being stoked, raffle full to the brim and 26 groups of people, individual runners, two cyclists, one Marathon Man and one swimmer all chomping at the bit, despite the weather. Everyone was raring to go, to cover their mile and carry on cheering for the whole day.

At 11:00 it started, our eldest daughter, Lucie, set off with relay baton. Over the last few months I was compiling 'Participant profiles' to get some insight as to why people were getting involved with 'Mile For Muscles - Count Me in'. It was a chance for an introduction from everyone, to everyone else. I think they worked well and the day before the event Lucie explained in hers that she was a carrier of the Muscular Dystrophy gene. Lucie hardly ever talks about this and was another reason for me to be gratified and also why, as a family, we do what we do.

After Lucie quickly set off some of us jumped in the car to get to the stadium to witness the first baton exchange and to encourage and cheer everyone on. Lucie passed the baton to my future son-in-law, Nick and he was off like a rocket! As were the next few runners and it really was happening, what I had thought for a long time as a dream was coming true right before my eyes. I cannot take you through everyone's miles because I wasn't at both ends of the relay and also, I cannot talk from your perspective and I wouldn't want any credit for what you did. And actually that was part of the point. It was only on the day that I saw how much pride people were taking in 'their mile', enthusiastically grabbing it, shouting about it and taking ownership.

I think it was about mile 12 when it started to rain and it didn't stop. The relentless, fine rain that is well known to soak you through. You really wouldn't of known, no spirits were dampened. The runners kept coming along with the cheers and smiles, I was on cloud nine.

Towards the end I had a feeling of anxiety in my stomach, A mix of pride and nervousness. During this year Michelle started to run in the evenings and she was to be the penultimate mile, mile 25. I remember looking up the road and Michelle was running towards me with the baton and that was it for me, absolutely, totally, rewarded with pride and emotion.

I received the baton and a cuddle and I was off, I had to think of something to get me to the end, what could it be, think Martin! It was beer, I chose beer to get me to the end and it was very painful but it worked. All joking aside, it was also for a very special young man that was asleep beside me most of the way in a buggy and also other friends boys who I've spoke about this year. My mile was for Finley, Leo, Tommy and thousands more.

The reception we received was incredible and I am extremely proud of how all my family and friends celebrated everyone that took part. I'm not quite finished here... The last mile was also walked by my friend Steve Davies who has Beckers Muscular Dystrophy and how amazing that was to see. Someone equally as stubborn and determined as me making so much effort to complete this challenge and together, at the end, we laughed in the face of adversity and it felt bloody brilliant! This was the first time I had met Steve, we knew each other through mutual friends on social media and this event compounded not only this but many friendships.

Even now I'm still tired, both physically and mentally but it was worth it. Lastly, I set a target of £6000 on our 'Just Giving' page. This was because £5880 will pay for a full weeks research into Muscular Dystrophy, 168 hours of research paid for by our event. The total right now is £5622.97 and we have £1000 to go on from the owners of Phlexglobal. Needless to say, we smashed it!

As I said in my very own participant profile, I don't think I'll ever be able to thank all you very selfless people enough.


With all my heart, Thank You!

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)