MS sufferer on top of the world after record trek
Heather Greenaway
An MS sufferer has become the first person to trek across the Arctic Circle wearing a leg brace.
Former police officer Scott McPhillimy completed the 40- mile challenge in temperatures of –20C while hauling a sled of camping equipment.
Scott, 31, was fitted with an ankle-foot orthosis to stop his foot from dropping and did 18 months of training for the expedition.
He said: “The company that made my walking device – Turbomed – said I’m the first person to trek the Arctic with the leg support.
“I thought I might have found the physical aspect of it tougher than I did but I think that came down to good preparation. For instance, we were all hiking up a long hill at the end of the second day and I actually made it up first, which I was delighted about. That’s definitely not to say that it was easy, though.
“It wasn’t just the exertion that took its toll. At night, everything had to go in your sleeping bag so it didn’t freeze. “During the day, everything from my hat to my Haribo sweet s and apple s froze solid. I’ve never experienced cold like it. We had lots of fresh snowfall, which was very hard to trek through.”
The three- day adventure saw Scott – who is married to Suzanne, 31 – battle across the frozen lakes and mountains of the Finnish tundra in driving snow.
The self- confessed adrenalin junkie, from Newton Mearns, Glasgow, raised £ 8000 for MS Society Scotland.
Scott, who was diagnosed in 2015, has also conquered the Tough Mudder assault course and abseiled off the Forth Road Bridge.
He added: “I can’t believe I’ve done it. I was worried I’d bitten off more than I could chew but all of the hard work and the 18 months of intense training paid off.
“Over the last two years, I have been lucky enough to be on a clinical trial for a new drug, which has given me some much-needed stability.
“Others are not so lucky, which is why the work of the MS Society is so important.
“If you had told me when I was diagnosed that in less than five years I would be trekking in the Arctic Circle, I would just have laughed at you.
“The sense of achievement will stay with me forever.”
Scott, who works for an energy firm, is already planning his next adventure – walking the West Highland Way.