Miss-Delectable
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http://www.abc.net.au/northwest/stories/s1709318.htm?backyard
John Nelson and Ted Lowe, two Rotarians from Mount Isa, are setting off today on a charity fund-raising cycle tour. Their story is an inspiration. John is doing this trip after having both his legs amputated when Meningococcal septicaemia threatened his life four years ago.
He says it was thought of doing the bike ride that helped pull him through worst of the disease. "I can't die - I've got this ride to do - it was something that helped me a lot."
"Ted and I had ridden distance for quite a few years - we were going to do our own backup, take trailers and ride normal two-wheel bikes. We were all set to go and five days before we were due to fly out I got Meningococcal septicaemia and spent nineteen days in intensive care and five months in hospital."
John and Ted have already completed one cycling trip since John's recovery, and after a few unexpected delays and some last minute adjustments to the itinerary, they're keen to get this trip underway.
"I had to change to a three-wheel trike and Ted rides the same bike because they're much more compatible than a conventional bike and a trike."
They're travelling from Mount Isa to Cloncurry and Townsville, then they'll head south and travel down the east coast to Bairnsdale in Victoria. They're raising funds for the Bionic Ear Institute.
"We visit Rotary clubs as we arrive in the towns and they make a donation to us at one of their meetings," says Ted. "We decided it would be done for a charity through Rotary - and as John has two profoundly deaf children, he decided he would like to do it for the Bionic Ear Institute."
"They're 38 and 40, so they're ahead of the bionic ear," says John. He explains that a friend of his daughter has a deaf child that received a bionic ear at eighteen months of age.
"When I saw him at two and a half his language was absolutely fantastic - I was just amazed at how good his speech was."
John is incredibly philosophical about the difficulties he's had to overcome in life and says, "You do overcome most difficulties if you approach it the right way I suppose."
John Nelson and Ted Lowe, two Rotarians from Mount Isa, are setting off today on a charity fund-raising cycle tour. Their story is an inspiration. John is doing this trip after having both his legs amputated when Meningococcal septicaemia threatened his life four years ago.
He says it was thought of doing the bike ride that helped pull him through worst of the disease. "I can't die - I've got this ride to do - it was something that helped me a lot."
"Ted and I had ridden distance for quite a few years - we were going to do our own backup, take trailers and ride normal two-wheel bikes. We were all set to go and five days before we were due to fly out I got Meningococcal septicaemia and spent nineteen days in intensive care and five months in hospital."
John and Ted have already completed one cycling trip since John's recovery, and after a few unexpected delays and some last minute adjustments to the itinerary, they're keen to get this trip underway.
"I had to change to a three-wheel trike and Ted rides the same bike because they're much more compatible than a conventional bike and a trike."
They're travelling from Mount Isa to Cloncurry and Townsville, then they'll head south and travel down the east coast to Bairnsdale in Victoria. They're raising funds for the Bionic Ear Institute.
"We visit Rotary clubs as we arrive in the towns and they make a donation to us at one of their meetings," says Ted. "We decided it would be done for a charity through Rotary - and as John has two profoundly deaf children, he decided he would like to do it for the Bionic Ear Institute."
"They're 38 and 40, so they're ahead of the bionic ear," says John. He explains that a friend of his daughter has a deaf child that received a bionic ear at eighteen months of age.
"When I saw him at two and a half his language was absolutely fantastic - I was just amazed at how good his speech was."
John is incredibly philosophical about the difficulties he's had to overcome in life and says, "You do overcome most difficulties if you approach it the right way I suppose."