Andy’s fundraiser is summit special

An ex-soldier who was told he would never walk again has climbed a mountain to raise money for the charity that helped him cope with his injuries.

Strathaven man Andy McIntosh reached the 1512ft summit of Ben A’an in just under two hours.

And he has raised £1600 for armed forces charity SSAFA in the process – with some help from a local gym.

The veteran said: “I think this has to be one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, and if someone had said to me 12 months ago that I’d be able to do this, I’d have laughed and said they were mad.

“I set myself a target of four hours to summit and I managed to do it in 1 hour and 44 minutes. So far we’ve raised £1600.”

A decade ago, Andy was told he would never walk again after he sustained injuries during his service.

After his time with the Cheshire Regiment, he thought he had left the Army fully fit.

However, he said: “After much investigation it was found that I had over a hundred blood clots.

“The main vein that carries the blood from my leg back to my heart had disintegrated and this was put down to the trauma of the incident.

“I was told back in 2011 I would never be able to work again and for the next 10 years, I was living in chronic, constant pain, and was pumped full of morphine and other painkillers.

“That in turn has damaged my kidneys and one of my lungs is permanently collapsed due to this medication.”

It was SSAFA that supported him on his road to recovery and he wanted to give back to them after the incredible support he received.

Andy worked with FTPT Gym in Strathaven as he trained for the climb in the Trossachs.

And the money he raised will help SSAFA provide support to veterans, serving personnel and their families.

Originally from Manchester, Andy has served in Bosnia and undertook several tours of Northern Ireland during his service. He is now the chairman of SSAFA Lanarkshire.

He added: “I felt alive for the first time in years and that’s all down to Alan and Lucy Clark of FTPT Gym in Strathaven. They took a chance on me when I was told I couldn’t do any fitness or walk any long distances anymore due to health issues.

“The support from everyone at the gym has been magnificent, but especially from Alan who knew when to push me and when to ease off.

“None of this would have been possible, however, without him or my support team on the day of Alan, Craig French, and Jim Lockwood who got me up – and down – safely.

“But my last ‘thank you’ has to go out to everyone who has donated to this and made an old veteran a happy man.”

Lucy Clark from FTPT added: “In total, there was a team of 30 members and their children from Strathaven FTPT who supported Andy on the day and reached the summit.

“We were rained off from camping overnight, so Andy had to do the return journey the same afternoon but smashed his original target of four hours up and he was up and down within four hours.

“We are so proud of what Andy has achieved as well as pride in the tremendous team spirit shown by all of our members who have supported and encouraged him both in the gym during training and on the day, or those who donated to SSAFA.

“He was worried about letting us down, but there was never any doubt he would smash it.”

Andy’s Just Giving page is still open, and donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ andymc-teamftpt