At the Home International Regatta
Most people, when faced with a lifetime in a wheelchair and a dependence on intravenous feeding, would resign themselves to a life of relative inactivity. They certainly wouldn’t contemplate a sport as demanding as rowing.
Claire Connon, however, is not most people.
Far from bowing out of sport, and despite suffering from what she describes as a “list of medical craziness”, she has embarked on a plan to compete at the Rio 2016 Paralympics. And far from feeling sorry for herself, she describes herself as blessed.
Claire’s story starts nine years ago at Cambridge University, when she had everything going for her. She was in her second year at Robinson College studying Geography, and had been invited to trial for the Cambridge University Boat Club. She had a great social life, and alongside rowing and studying fitted in diving, badminton and hockey. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
The life Claire had made for herself wasn’t to last, though. One day she was walking down the road and, out of the blue, felt as though the plug had been pulled on her energy. She staggered home and collapsed on the bed, waiting for the feeling to pass. It didn’t. Diagnosed with post-viral M.E., she managed to continue her studies by dropping all her other activities.
Gradually, though, Claire became aware that her symptoms weren’t entirely consistent with M.E.. Eventually she was diagnosed with a genetic condition, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). She is now a full time wheelchair user and her condition means that she cannot digest food properly which initially led to severe malnutrition. Two years ago she achieved a breakthrough when she was put on Total Parenteral Nutrition, or TPN, which involves a piece of tubing inserted into her chest and connected with her heart. Each night a mixture of of glucose, vitamins, minerals and other essentials is pumped into her body.
Of all the things that Claire missed about her former life, the greatest was rowing. She was distraught when her mother suggested getting rid of her rowing kit – life without rowing was just too painful to contemplate. Happily, getting her nutrition via TPN gave Claire the energy to contemplate taking up her beloved sport again and she is now a Trunk and Arms adaptive rower. Determined to compete, despite the lack of para-rowing categories in most events, she entered the Home International Regatta last year, despite being the only entrant, and rowed 1k on her own, with full commentary.
For someone as determined as Claire, competing without competition is no fun, and she has now set her sights on the world of elite para-rowing. She plans to trial for GB later in the year.
There’s just one thing, though. Sheer grit, determination and optimism – all of which Claire has in spades – are not enough. To compete, Claire needs a boat, and at the moment she is borrowing one that she needs to return. So she needs to raise some money – £3,000 to be precise. This sum is, needless to say, just the tip of the iceberg. To make a real go of it, she’ll also need to pay for blades, a seat, seat pads, lights, racking fees and club membership, so the actual sum she needs is considerably higher.
That’s why Claire has launched her Make a Champ campaign. Have a read – I defy you to remain unmoved by Claire’s drive to become the world’s first intravenously-fed athlete to compete in the Paralympics. And next time you’re feeling down, remember what Claire told me just this afternoon:
“I want people to know that you can go through hell and it isn’t always the end. I have a better life now. I love the quote, ‘If they tell you what you want to do is impossible, they don’t know you.’ “
