People - Hilary Lister

GUEST ARTICLE BY KELS GILKISON
If you found yourself completely quadriplegic, unable to move anything other than your mouth, eyes & head, what would you do? What would you be thinking? Would you want to end you life? A bit hard to do though, when the hand you need, can only be your own and it is paralysed.

I have been asking myself what would I do, how would I cope? The reason? Not because I find myself in this position, but because I am now organising a different kind of sailing event. Not a race, in a sense, but the dream of a quadriplegic lady.

You may have read or heard about Hilary Lister. In 2005, she sailed solo across the English Channel to enter the record books for completing the world’s longest solo sail by a quadriplegic. Hilary sailed by sucking & blowing down two straws, (one to sheet in and out the sails, the other to move the rudder from side to side). She took 6 hours and 13 minutes to cross the English channel in a 26’ Soling. Quite an achievement, even for an able body solo sailor!

Now Hilary wants to sail around Britain. Hilary is leaving in June this year from Cowes and will be sailing anti-clockwise around Britain, via the Caledonian Canal and down the east coast of Ireland. She’ll be stopping at many ports on her 3-4 month sail.

Hilary is an inspirational woman and I often forget when chatting with her, that she is quadriplegic. She is incredibly witty and bright. Hilary is also a qualified Biochemist, but unfortunately never got the chance to work in her chosen field.

Hilary’s condition did not happen overnight like many quadriplegics. Hilary did not dive into a shallow pool nor was she involved in an accident. Hilary actually has a progressive degenerative disease (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) that has slowly moved up from her feet to her neck, leaving her paralysed as it moves upward. Diagnosed when she was 15, it was not something a teenager really needs to deal with. Hilary knew that it would only be a matter of time before the disease took away the use of all her limbs. Still, she never let her condition control her life and as the disease slowly took away the use of her legs, then her arms, she found other things to do until such time as the only thing left to move, was her head. So she took up sailing……!

'Would I have that same spirit, were I in her position?' It is a question I often find myself asking. Hilary tells me 'Of course I would, anyone would', but I’m not so sure.

I said I was involved in a race of a different kind. Well it is a race in a way, Hilary’s life expectancy is only a few more years, so to her it’s a race. A race to sail solo round Britain before her own time runs out.
You can read more about Hilary on her website www.hilarylister.com

Kels kels@two-chapters.com