Mother in cycle trip tribute to dead son
THE mother of a Scottish man who died after falling into an Amsterdam canal is to cycle across Scotland in his memory.
Chris Nelson, 24, from Dalkeith, Midlothian, fell into a canal in the Dutch city last November while on holiday in the city.
Now his mother, Donna, 45, is planning to take the Celtic Challenge, a 200-mile cycle ride organised by St Columba’s Hospice in Edinburgh.
It is a 200 mile cycle ride from Edinburgh to Iona, which takes participants through Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Inveraray, Oban, the Isle of Mull and Iona.
She will be using her son’s racing bike for the journey.
“I don’t have a bike and I really don’t like cycling,” she said.
“He would have found this really funny. Any time we went to Center Parcs as a family and had to hire bikes to get around, I’d be complaining about it. The idea of me cycling anywhere – never mind this – would have had him in stitches.”
It is believed Mr Nelson, who was visiting the canal city with his girlfriend, slipped or tripped and fell into the water, perhaps knocking his head on the way.
He disappeared in mid-November and his body was found in early December.
Mrs Nelson, chief executive of the charity Pasda, which works with families of adults with autism, saw the cycle route on social media and was inspired by the connection between the island and her family, which they have often visited.
“It felt like it message,” she said.
“I knew I had to go for it. Some days are harder than others, but I’m determined to do this.”
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a THE Royal British Legion is calling on the Government to do more to help veterans suffering from Gulf War Syndrome.
Up to 33,000 former soldiers could potentially be living with illnesses linked to serving in the Gulf, where operations began 25 years ago, and “we still do not know how to effectively treat Gulf War illnesses,” according to the charity.
Acute and chronic fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, rashes and diarrhoea are some of the symptoms, and the charity is urging the Government to carry out more issue.
Marie-Louise Sharp of the Royal British Legion, said: “We know the health of ill Gulf War veterans continues to be an important area, which is why the legion is calling for investment into research to understand how
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the to improve the lives of those affected.
“In addition, we ask for formal communication channels to be established to convey the results of US research developments to Gulf War veterans living here in the UK.”
Some 53,462 members of the British armed forces who were deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Storm.
It was a US-led campaign against the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Combat operations began on January 17, 1991.
The Royal British Legion notes that research in the US, UK, Australia and Canada has found that veterans of the Gulf War are twice as likely to report post-traumatic stress disorder, have a poorer quality of life, and their symptoms tend to be experienced at a greater intensity than those who served in other comparable conflicts.