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A man who was paralysed from the waist down has entered a 5k race at London's Olympic Park

A man paralysed after being crushed in an industrial accident is fundraising for the charity that gave him back his zest for life.

Terry Dodd suffered irreversible spinal cord damage after a 270kg metal frame fell on him while he was working in Marden in August 2014.

The 43-year-old, of Dean Street in East Farleigh, now has no feeling from the waist down.

Terry and Sarah Dodd have entered a 5k race
Terry and Sarah Dodd have entered a 5k race

After the accident, the welder was airlifted to King’s College Hospital, and later transferred to the spinal injuries unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire for three months of rehabilitation.

Wife Sarah, 42, left her job as an HR manager at Commercial Services in Kings Hill to become his carer and they now sleep in the conservatory, awaiting a move to specialist accommodation.

“I was in excruciating pain. I’m in the prime of my life so it has been a shock to end up in a wheelchair, but the charity has shown me you can do anything you put your mind to.” - Terry Dodd.

She said: “I was on the sofa in my PJs when I got the call about the accident, and it turned my whole life upside down.

“To look at him you wouldn’t know anything was wrong. He just had a scratch on his shoulder but within three or four hours we were told it was unlikely he would ever walk again.

“He was such an active person and loved his motorcycling and snowboarding. I just didn’t know how we were going to cope.”

Mr Dodd said: “When the frame fell on me my immediate reaction was to try and get up but I couldn’t.

Now the couple, who have been together for 28 years, are taking part in a 5k at the Olympic Park in London, on Sunday, September 4.

They hope to raise £3,000 for Access Adventures, which enables disabled people to enjoy leisure activities such as kite surfing, kayaking and scuba diving.

Thanks to them, Mr Dodd has been water skiing, and is re-learning how to snowboard.

On the second anniversary of the accident, last Tuesday, the pair were joined by 50 people, including Friends That Run, for a warm up 5k around Mote Park, which raised £350.

To donate visit tinyurl.com/doddKM

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