MEA - End of Amazon Ed's huge adventure

[V99]

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1366n-gmtv-on-monday-morning-august-9-the-end-of-amazon-eds-huge-adventure&catid=30:news&Itemid=161

Ed was pushing himself so hard to the finish line that he collapsed and had to rest - missing the planned link up with GMTV. But he did manage to speak to BBC1 Breakfast at about 7.16 this morning. We'll put a link up to that interview as soon as it is available. He's now blogged with an account of what happened to him this morning. Read this blog


GMTV cameras will be capturing the moment on Monday morning when Ed Stafford and his Peruviuan walking companion Cho jump into the sea at the end of their epic Amazon walk - which has taken well over over two and a half years.

Ed - one of whose good causes is the ME Association's Biobank Appeal - will have walked from the source of the Amazon in Peru to the mouth of this greatriver in Brazil. Originally, it was going to be a 4,000-mile hike.

But flood waters which needed avoiding, poor mapping of the river basin and failures in the GPS device turned it into a grinding trudge over of 7,000 miles initially across desert then through mile upon mile upon mile of rainforest.

On the way, they've had to negotiate their safe passage with bandits, been locked up suspected of murder (they didn't do it!), and even had to dig a botfly out of Ed's skull. And, in the very early days, Ed even had a falling out with his original walking partner over who should have control of the iPod.
Ba Stafford, Ed's mum and an MEA trustee, will be in the studio in London expressing her delight, and hopefully plugging the biobank appeal.

Sorry, we don't at this moment know when this item will fit into the GMTV schedules on Monday morning (you may have to watch the whole show to catch it!). But we will put up the playback facility on our website as soon as possible afterwards.

Once Ed and Cho have caught their breath, and had a few well-deserved beers, they will fly home to Britain.

They're expected to arrive at Heathrow to a double hero's welcome sometime on Wednesday (11 August).

And, on November 11, Ed is due to appear at the Royal Geographical Society in London to share a lecture platform with Sir Ranulph Fiennes, leader of the Transglobe Expedition. It will be a real Phineas Fogg moment, but so much better!

CNN are already running day by day stories on Ed and Cho, travel photographer Keith Duchatel is completing the last few miles with them and 'The Sun" carried a double-page spread about them a few days ago. There's also the prospect of a TV film about the whole expedition.

Their blog is at walkingtheamazon.com

And, if you've two or three pounds to spare, you will be most welcome to put it into Ed's ME biobank account.

Welcome back, boys!

 

[garcia]

Anyone else noticed that although they raised about 40,000 for Cancer Research, the ME Association and rainforest charities (why anyone would waste their time raising money for the mega-charity Cancer research is beyond me, but anyway), the total expedition cost 63,000 to mount. Might as well have stayed at home and just donated the money to charity!

 

[V99]

Have you seen the news coverage? All they mention is the rainforest, nothing about ME. V. disappointing coverage.

 

[Sasha]

Have you seen the news coverage? All they mention is the rainforest, nothing about ME. V. disappointing coverage.

Yeah, just heard a news item on the 7pm Radio 4 news and not a word about the charities he was supporting. What a shame.

 

[pictureofhealth]

There is a UK BBC News website link here (today - Monday) that mentions the ME Association (quite a way down).

His father died from cancer - hence the cancer research.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10852783

(Not sure if this link will be available after today).

 

[V99]

Thanks for the link pictureofhealth. It's so weird that they are covering this story but keeping the charities hidden.

 

[garcia]

Thanks for the link pictureofhealth. It's so weird that they are covering this story but keeping the charities hidden.

I think its a failure on the part of the ME charities in general to advertise who they are and/or more importantly what ME is. I'm sure most people are clueless as to what ME is.

 

[pictureofhealth]

One of the charities he was raising money for was the UK ME Association and specifically to help fund the set up of a Brain & Tissue Bank for study of post mortem samples in ME patients in the UK.

Dr Shepherd reports (in a previous edition of their magazine ME Essential) that some feasibility and cost studies have already been undertaken to see whether it would be practical to have a stand alone ME Brain & Tissue Bank, or whether to have the ME tissue samples included as part of a central/national Brain and Tissue bank for many other illnesses too such as MS, (I think the Medical Research Council runs/funds the main one?).

I think you're right Garcia, a bit more publicity from the ME charities outside their usual arenas wouldn't go amiss. It may be that UK funds are really tight of course - there are far fewer of us than contribute to the big American charities.

But also probably each news story tends to have 1 main theme/focus - and walking the entire length of the Amazon is a HUGE achievement worthy of coverage in its own right probaby a film - definitely a book. The Brazilians wouldn't even help Ed as they thought it couldn't be done (the song 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen) comes to mind!

Really glad to see Sir Ranulph Fiennes backing him.

Re ME publicity - It would be great to see some giant posters going up in London in the middle of the night right in front of the MRC and Kings College for eg - "ME - devastating neuroimmune illness leading to death - no funding by the UK government" - then picture of a grave. (Ok I'll think this through and come up with something better!)

 

[V99]

Re ME publicity - It would be great to see some giant posters going up in London in the middle of the night right in front of the MRC and Kings College for eg - "ME - devastating neuroimmune illness leading to death - no funding by the UK government" - then picture of a grave. (Ok I'll think this through and come up with something better!)

Sounds good to me.

 

[garcia]

Re ME publicity - It would be great to see some giant posters going up in London in the middle of the night right in front of the MRC and Kings College for eg - "ME - devastating neuroimmune illness leading to death - no funding by the UK government" - then picture of a grave. (Ok I'll think this through and come up with something better!)

Awesome idea! All we would need is 1 strategically placed poster. Wonder how much that would cost?