22/04/2024
Summit to sea for MND. https://www.facebook.com/61555419483135/posts/122140745540180649/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
The colourful flotilla of kayaks appeared in the distance, the colours popping against the sparkling blue of Lough Foyle in Co Donegal, as they brought a man, who is a friend to so many of us, on his last paddle.
Adrian Harkin (54), a legend in the Irish kayaking and outdoor community, was embarking on what was the biggest undertaking of his life – organising an all-island adventure to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) research.
He knew setting off on Saturday that this was likely to be his last time in a kayak, a place where he found so much joy and from where he brought his skills and knowledge of the water to so many friends and colleagues.
Two years ago Adrian’s worst fears were realised when something that began with a slight tremor in his hand was diagnosed as MND. In a very short space of time, he went from being the fittest of men to being in a wheelchair, being peg fed and communicating with friends and family with an eye-gaze computer.
No longer able to get out on the water, he turned his attention to raising money for research into a disease that has robbed him of so much in his life. He was determined that his legacy would be to do what he could to find a cure.
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