Cyclist ends recovery with amazing bike ride
LINKSFIELD – Avid cyclist Howard Tucker took a massive cycling challenge with his club to mark the day he was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome.
Avid cyclist and Linksfield resident Howard Tucker, alongside his cycling club Capri Wheelers, celebrated his five-year recovery from Guillain Barre Syndrome through a special bike ride on 2 December.
Tucker and the Capri Wheelers hosted approximately 180 cyclists to take on a wonderous 200km bike route in Linksfield on 2 December as a celebration of life. He said that in November 2013 he woke up without the ability to move any of his limbs.
He said, “I tried to get out of bed but my hands were closed and my legs simply wouldn’t work properly. I just fell out of the bed. My wife found me trying to crawl to the toilet and nearly had a heart attack.”
Tucker was soon diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a life-threatening autoimmune condition where his immune system confused his nerves for bacteria. He said, “The treatment is typically a reboot of your immune, basically a flush of your blood. Usually, a five-day procedure, involving either plasmapheresis using a dialysis type machine or gamma globulins that I received intravenously.”
He added, “In most cases, the treatment process stops the confusion and subject to what nerves have been permanently damaged, you are then able to start a long road to your own level of recovery.”
Tucker said that he called this period of his life ’31 November’ as he felt like his life had stood still. But with the support from family and friends he began a process of recovery with the hopes of riding the 94.7 Cycle Challenge again, which he was able to do in 2015.
He said, “This year, to mark my 5th anniversary of ’31 November’, I made a pledge to myself to complete these five 200km rides over consecutive weekends.”
The final weekend ended with the special community cycle with Capri Wheelers, and various other clubs and residents who took on the 200km ride to celebrate his recovery.
Chairperson of the Capri Wheeler Barry Levin said that the day will officially be placed onto the club calendar as an event.
Tucker added, “In my wildest dreams, I never thought it would turn out to be the day it was.
“Everyone has a challenge every day. And for me, I think we all need perseverance and belief in oneself to overcome this challenge. That’s what I want people to take out of this story. There are people who go through worse every day, but there is a light at the tunnel.”
Details: Barry Levin 072 423 4102.
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