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Trustee Mike Brooke OBE unveils anti-gravity treadmill at our centre

Date
20 January 2017 15:00

This week we unveiled a new anti-gravity treadmill in our training and rehabilitation centre in Llandudno.

Action photo of blind veteran Michael Johnson trialing the anti-gravity treadmill with instructor Lee EvansThe anti-gravity treadmill was purchased from funds raised from two teams in our 2016 100k Yorkshire walking challenge. The teams were made up of some of our trustees as well as blind veteran Paul Jacobs and his guides.


Rifleman Paul Jacobs GM aged 27 completely lost his sight whilst on operations in Afghanistan. He was just three weeks away from the end of his tour. Paul is no stranger to taking on physical challenges since losing his sight. He has already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and finished the London marathon twice.

Of our charity, he says: 
"Blind Veterans UK has done so much for me so I’m very proud to have been able to give something back by raising this money and giving the centre this piece of equipment."
The anti-gravity treadmill will be used by vision-impaired ex-Service men and women with specialist training needs. Mark Hollis, an Activities Team Leader has described how excited the staff are to get going training veterans on the treadmill.

He said: “The Alter G anti-gravity trainer is an amazing rehabilitation tool which will allow us to offer a much broader range of services. We can assist in mobility training for blind veterans who have suffered a stroke or are recovering post-operatively from knee, hip and lower back injuries as part of a coordinated programme with our gym staff, in house Occupational Therapist and the veterans’ physiotherapy team.

“The Alter G has also been proved to reduce the fall rate in MS and Parkinson’s sufferers by 95 per cent as part of an intense programme, this will make a massive impact on people’s lives and general wellbeing.
Photo of ormer Trustee Mike Brook and Centre Manager Steve Boswell unveiling anti-gravity treadmill with blind veterans Michael Johnson and Carl AdamsonIt was purchased from funds raised from two teams in our 2016 100k Yorkshire walking challenge. The teams were made up of some of our trustees as well as blind veteran Paul Jacobs and his guides. Also there to witness the unveiling was Colonel Mike Brooke OBE - one of our Trustees as well as one of the guides who assisted Paul along the 100k route. He said: “I, and the rest of ‘Paul’s People’ were hugely proud to just work alongside Paul on the day. He is an excellent example of the great things our blind veterans can achieve.”

We are so grateful to have been donated this amazing life-changing piece of equipment. Thanks to everyone who supported us to make this possible.