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A 46-year-old man from Colchester is getting ready for three physically demanding challenges less than 18 months after major back surgery.
Company Director Dave Waterman will take on the Virgin Money London Marathon, Trek The Night: South Downs Way and Essex100 for Action Medical Research.
“I’m a keen cyclist and have always enjoyed keeping fit and setting myself challenges”, says the married father of three. “Dreaming of taking on an extreme physical challenge was the one thing that got me through the painful rehab immediately following the operation.”
Dave had surgery in September 2016 to repair three worn discs in his lower back. Although there's no clear reason for his back trouble, he can remember a collision in his teens which may have contributed:
“Well, when I was 19 I was involved in a motorcycle crash and had been suffering with a bad back ever since. But more recently the pain had just been getting progressively worse; long distance car journeys were excruciating.
“It got to the stage where I couldn’t sit down to watch my youngest daughter’s nativity play and that’s when I knew something had to be done.”
Dave hopes to raise £3,000 for Action by completing all three of his challenges throughout 2018.
Action Medical Research has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952 including helping to introduce the first polio vaccines in the UK, developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy and testing the rubella vaccine.
The charity is currently funding research into conditions including asthma, prematurity, epilepsy, meningitis, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.
It’s a cause that Dave’s very passionate about: “As a father of three (Kester,9, Anya, 7 and Arlo,5) it’s very sobering to think about all the work Action does to raise funds for research into various childhood illnesses and conditions.
“For me, being able to have fun running and cycling while raising money for a great cause is a win-win!”
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
You can find out more about Dave's story in this short blog:
https://www.action.org.uk/blog/2018/03/12/operating-table-treadmill
You can find a link to Dave Waterman’s fundraising page here:
https://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/DavidVLM2018
To download a photo of Dave Waterman:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/dave_waterman_selfie_cropped.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/dave_waterman_selfie_action_top.jpg
For more information on Action Medical Research, contact Peter Denton, Fundraising Communications Officer, on:
T: 01403 327412
E: pdenton@action.org.uk
W: www.action.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter at @actionmedres and @amr_events
Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/actionmedres
Follow us on Instagram at @actionmedres and @actionevents
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For more than 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today.
Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.