A grateful father of three is set to tackle one of the most punishing cycle rides in Scotland to say thank you to the Intensive Care Unit at Forth Valley Royal Hospital for saving the life of his partner Claire, Mother of their three boys. Damien Lord from Falkirk has set himself a target of £2,000 for Forth Valley Just Giving and although the Iron Ride event doesn’t take place until September 2015, has already raised more than half his target.

Last year, 31 year old Claire Hutcheon, mother of three boys aged three and a half, two and 6 months, was admitted to hospital with an unknown medical condition. Her health deteriorated rapidly and within a few hours she suffered organ failure with her blood vessels, kidneys and liver shutting down.

Paying tribute to the care Claire received Damien Lord commented: “It was at this time that the team at Forth Valley Royal’s Intensive Care Unit worked so hard for Claire. The first night was a living hell for me but the staff gave me hope that the longer they worked, the more likely Claire would be to pull through.”

Doctors later discovered Claire was suffering from a streptococcal bacterial infection that had found its way into her blood stream thereby infecting all areas of her body. Claire was unconscious for nearly two weeks and spent six weeks in Intensive Care.

Unfortunately the infection spread too quickly for treatment to be fully effective and Claire had to have an above-knee amputation performed on one leg and lost the muscles from the front of the opposite lower leg. Both her arms were also affected where diseased tissue was cut away. She was eventually discharged from hospital 6 months later.

Damian’s rigorous training schedule has involved a 135km ride climbing the Duke’s Pass, a 318km training exercise with lots of hills and a very sweaty 80km on a spin bike! This has been accomplished despite suffering from a viral infection and an injured hand from crashing on a wet roundabout.

Iron Ride Tayside Sportive is advertised for men and women of steel and riders will be rewarded with some stunning views, incredible roads and a challenging day in the saddle! It starts and finishes at Errol airfield just off the A90 and there are three distances to choose from. To test his mettle, Damien has opted for Titanium at 180kms in ONE day!

Donate online at – www.justgiving.com/180km-cycle

By text message to donate £10 Text IRRD98 £10
to 70070

For further information visit Iron Ride