Unbreakable - The Mark Pollock Story

I absolutely love hearing and watching inspirational real life stories. I find them extremely fascinating. How some people can overcome extraordinarily struggles and hardship is such an inspiring trait and it's a life lesson for us all.

Last weekend I went to see 'Unbreakable - The Mark Pollock Story' in the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield, Dublin. There was even a live Q&A after the film with Mark, his fiancee Simone George and the film maker, Ross Whitaker. 

I had heard about Mark at a recent Trinity Science Gallery exhibition called 'Fail Better'. Along with many famous explorers and scientists, Mark's story was outlined beside Christopher Reeve’s wheelchair. The main message was to highlight the failed notion of rehabilitation; that the wheelchair 'compensates for our inability to walk'. The text on the wall beside it was powerful; 'There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only those with unexpected outcomes'.

In brief, Mark is an Northern Irish athlete and motivational speaker. He became legally blind at the age of 22. He was the first visually impaired person to reach the South Pole in 2009. Wow! A tragic accident in 2010, after a fall from a 2nd floor window left him paralyzed from the waist down. He is now exploring spinal cord injury recovery in conjunction with robotic technology.

I won't tell you anymore....go see it for yourself!!

How can we help in the cure for spinal cord injury your ask???

• Sign up for Run In the Dark Dublin (5km or 10km...go on sure do the 10km!! Yikes I better dust off my runners!) on 12th November at 8pm. There are races also on in Cork, Belfast, London and Manchester. 100% of your entry fee (€27) received goes directly to the The Mark Pollock Trust.
• Contribute to his trust - http://www.markpollocktrust.org/

Follow Mark's Blog - http://markpollock.wordpress.com/