Kempston firefighter to take on 5K challenge after life-saving surgery
He's raising money for two charities which contributed to his recovery
A Bedfordshire firefighter is preparing to run 5k today (26 July) to raise funds for two charities that supported his recovery, following emergency surgery.
Jack Goodwin, 32, a firefighter at Kempston Fire Station, perforated his small intestine while out on a run. He was taken to A&E where he received emergency surgery the following morning.
After his life-changing operation, Jack decided to take on a challenge at Bedford International Athletics Stadium, raising money for the Fire Fighters Charity and Bedford Hospital Charity, each of which played a key role in his recovery.
Indeed Jack was one of hundreds of patients who have now been operated on by a surgery robot, a state-of-the-art machine funded by the hospital charity.
Jack said: "At Bedford Hospital they have a robotic arm where they do a lot of the operation using the robotic arm remotely. It makes the recovery a lot quicker, and I think that’s a big part of why I rehabbed quite quickly."
After spending six days in hospital, Jack returned to work just nine weeks after surgery. His recovery was also supported by a week-long stay at The Fire Fighters Charity’s centre in Penrith.
Jack said: "They have physios there, they have gyms there and basically it's like an intense rehab course to get you back up, back to work.
"It was really really helpful getting me back to work so quickly."
The idea for the 5K challenge came as a way to give back.
Jack will run 12.5 laps of the stadium track—equivalent to 5 kilometres—while multiple relay teams, made up of 12 runners each running 400 metres (with the final runner covering 600 metres), will attempt to beat his time.
Jack is aiming to finish the distance in around 14 minutes.
He also hopes the event will raise awareness of the role that charitable donations play in funding critical equipment such as the robotic arm used during his surgery.
Jack’s colleagues at Kempston Fire Station have supported him throughout his recovery and many plan to be there on the night.
Jack added: "My team have been great. They came to visit me in hospital and kept checking up on me all the time when I was going through rehab.
"It was really nice to keep attached to the work guys because it can be quite isolating when you’re sitting at home recovering."
You can find Jack's fundraising page using this link.