“His resilience and fighting spirit became clear to everyone around him”
Richard Russell, known to friends as Rigzy, has no grip in his hands as a result of the crash(Image: Supplied)
A Hull man on a routine journey to work had his world turned upside down in an instant. Richard Russell, fondly known as ‘Rigzy’, was commuting to London at around 4am on Monday 6th December 2021 when his van left the A15 in North Lincolnshire and crashed into several trees.
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said at the time that a man was “badly trapped” inside the vehicle. Richard underwent emergency roadside surgery and was then rushed to hospital.
After major surgery, his family – including his wife and three children – received the devastating news he was likely paralysed from the neck down and might never speak or eat solid food again.
However, friend Tom McCarthy, 40, said Richard’s determination “never wavered”. Despite contracting both COVID-19 and pneumonia, he regained some movement in his arms.
“Rigzy spent 12 months at the highly respected spinal unit at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, where his resilience and fighting spirit became clear to everyone around him,” said Tom.
He added: “Today, his progress is nothing short of remarkable. While the challenges remain significant, Rigzy has defied expectations.
“He has regained some movement in his arms and is now able to navigate independently in a motorised wheelchair. His journey continues, with ongoing physiotherapy and the unwavering support of his family – who remain the driving force behind his strength and positivity.”
Tom, who first met Richard in Year 10 at Wolfreton School, is now part of a team completing a coast-to-coast marathon challenge to raise funds. They also played rugby together at Hullensians Rugby Club in Anlaby, who are supporting the current fundraising effort.
Money raised will enable Richard to have more physiotherapy. “He has an electric wheelchair and he is able to use that because he has movement in his arms, but he has got no grip in either of his hands,” said Tom.
“One of the things he wants to do, and part of this rehabilitation that physio is so important for, he wants to strengthen his body so he can have surgery where they remove tendons from his legs and place them in his arms which then allows him to have movement in his fingers and grip – which we take for granted.”
Tom said this would enable Richard to pick up things, so he “wouldn’t have to rely on other people to do things for him”. Tom will be joined in the challenge by his step-brother Chris Akrill, 43, friend Jack Brown, 32, and his cousin Nat Fuller, 29.
He added: “It’s a team of four of us who are doing the run and we are all doing it together back to back over three days, so it’s just over a marathon a day.”
“We’ve done some training together, but for the most part we’ve all got quite a hectic schedule with our work so we’ve been doing a lot of training individually.”
Between May 2 and 4, the team will run from Bowness-on-Solway to South Shields, following the full length of Hadrian’s Wall over just three days. It’s equivalent to more than three back-to-back marathons.
To support the team, visit their ‘Raising For Rigzy’ gofundme page.
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