Burnley gym assistant manager running Manchester Half Marathon with his wheelchair bound brother
A big hearted Burnley gym assistant manager is preparing to take part in the Manchester Half Marathon for the charity that he says ‘changed my brother’s life.’
Luke Jordan is raising money for The Ace Centre in Oldham, a charity that provided his brother Jamie, who has cerebral palsy, with a communication box. The revolutionary piece of kit, has transformed Jamie’s life, his family say.
The box, called a speech generating device, helps people with cerebral palsy to express their thoughts, wants and needs when physical muscle spasms make verbal speech difficult or impossible.
Jamie, who attended Ridgewood High School in Burnley, was born prematurely at 28 weeks, and diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 10 months old. He lives in his own bungalow in Nelson where he leads an independent life with the support of carers.
His proud mum Anita said: “Jamie has never let his condition stop him from leading a full life and the communication box has made such a difference to him.
“He is a really bright lad and he loves nothing more than being with his family and having great banter with his brothers. “They are very close and always playing pranks on each other.”
Luke, who works at The Gym in Burnley, came up with the idea of running the marathon, and also a way that Jamie could take part.
Anita said: “Luke is going to push Jamie in his wheelchair. It’s going to be tough because, although Luke is into his fitness, this will be a challenge and half.
“He’s been doing a great deal of training.”
The brothers will certainly draw plenty of attention as they are planning to dress as the Super Mario brothers for the event which takes place this Sunday (October 4).
Around 32,000 runners are expected to take part in the 13.1 mile marathon that will raise around £1.8M for charities. And luckily for Luke the course is very flat with no hills.
Luke, a former student at Unity College, has already raised just under £1,000 through justgiving for the Ace Centre that supports children and adults with complex physical and communication disabilities.
Anita, who will be cheering the duo on with their older brother Ross (32) their dad Andy and Luke’s girlfriend Liberty, added: “We are so grateful to the centre for how they have changed Jamie’s life. The device Jamie received is worth around £5,000 and they donated it to him. “
If you would like to sponsor Luke and Jamie please go to the justgiving site and search Luke Jordan.