Jacob Smith

Christmas in 2019 wasn't an ordinary Christmas as Jake discovered he had a low flow spinal cavernoma which led to him going into surgery to have it removed on NYE. This has left Jake with a spinal cord injury with the damage extending from C3-C7. He also has Brown Sequards syndrome which means he has limited movement on the left side of his body and little to no movement in his left arm but can feel pain. On the right he has good movement but no pain sensation, this can lead to blisters and sores that need managing. Jake's girlfriend Olivia put Jake forward for a beneficiary place without him knowing as she knew he would be too reserved and modest to put himself forward. It was a great surprise for him to learn he was going to be taking on the mighty Monte Rosa (4215m) and enter into the M2M Development Programme. Jake's feedback from the trip was "Hands down the most amazing and eye opening experience I've had. Each day put me out my comfort zone and made me realise I'm a lot more capable than I thought I was."

Jake thrives in the outdoors. Before the trip he took on a swimless Iron Man, cycling 112 miles around the Yorkshire Dales and walking the 3 Yorkshire Peaks equating to a marathon. He has now gone on to trial for the British Cycling Paralympic team. The M2M team can't wait to see what Jake does next. Jake said "The trip has given me a lot of perspective of what I want to do in the future. M2M has been a big stepping stone in my recovery, and I can't thank them enough for that. Watching Eds challenges have been an amazing inspiration and have helped me push myself and take on some of my own."

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