By Calida Smylie
Jup Brown hopes his body can forgive the pain he is about to put it through.
At 6:45am on September 1, Brown will set out from Stewart Island on an epic adventure. The 38-year-old plumber from Wanaka plans to run the length of New Zealand to raise money for the Stroke Foundation.
The run, which Brown aims to complete over 10 weeks, was inspired by his friend Nick Chisholm. Eleven years ago, Chisholm suffered six strokes over two days, leaving him with locked-in syndrome – a condition where the patient is awake and aware, but cannot move due to the complete paralysis of all voluntary muscles except the eyes.
Doctors told him he would never walk or talk again.
Now Chisholm goes to the gym every day, walks short distances with the help of a walking frame, and is starting to talk again. Brown says the way his friend defied doctors’ predictions proves the old saying – never give up.
“It was February this year that I met Nick. I asked him what he’d like to do if we raised some money for him. He said he wanted to ride a mountain bike again.
“I said, ‘Leave it to me Nick, and I’ll see what I can do.’ So I ran 100km on a treadmill in a day, and we fundraised $40,000 through that.”
This was enough to buy two tricycles with reclined, supportive seats for Chisholm, who is planning to ride alongside Brown on his run through Dunedin.
“He’s jumping out of his wheelchair with excitement to use the bike. He’s just so inspirational,” says Brown.
Brown timed the run to coincide with Stroke Awareness Week (September 5-11), and also World Stroke Day on October 9.
Strokes are the third most common cause of death in New Zealand, killing about 2000 people every year. Around 10 percent of stroke deaths occur in people under 65.
“The worst thing about strokes is that it could happen to anyone, and I don’t think people really know that. Babies, athletes – Nick was super fit himself, he was a triathlete – it can strike anyone down,” says Brown.
Strokes are also the most common cause of adult disability in New Zealand. There are an estimated 45,000 stroke survivors in New Zealand. Many are disabled and need significant daily support, according to the New Zealand Stroke Foundation spokesperson Fraser Pettigrew.
Pettigrew says the Stroke Foundation is “gobsmacked” at the effort Brown is putting in to help their cause.
“The guy’s a born organiser and ‘do-er’. He inspires people’s imagination, and it’s incredible to have someone like him to take up our cause.”
Pettigrew says the best thing about what Brown is doing is that he is spreading the stroke awareness message to areas that are hard for the foundation to reach.
“When you see Jup running through your town, put your trainers on and go and join him - you’ll be doing yourself a favour to reduce your stroke risk.”
Brown agrees. “I’m not going to rush; I’m just going to poddle along. You can roller-skate along the road with me if you want.”
Text STROKE to 5339 to give an instant three dollar donation to the Stroke Foundation of New Zealand. The appeal runs for three months.
Offers of accommodation along the way would be greatly appreciated by Jup. Go to his blog http://running-nz.info/ to leave him a comment, or contact him on 021 0829 6699.
3 News
Calida Smylie is a journalism student at AUT University.