Yorkshire adrenaline junkie paralysed from neck down sets record for fastest wheelchair – The Yorkshire Post
Brave Jason Liversidge, 46, is paralysed from the neck down from Motor Neurone Disease. He was diagnosed with the degenerative disease, which there is no cure for, in 2013.
Since his diagnosis, Jason has taken on a number of daring challenges, including scaling Mount Snowdon in an electric wheelchair and abseiling off the Humber Bridge, all whilst being paralysed.
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Brave Jason Liversidge, 46, is paralysed from the neck down from Motor Neurone Disease. He was diagnosed with the degenerative disease, which there is no cure for, in 2013.
Since his diagnosis, Jason has taken on a number of daring challenges, including scaling Mount Snowdon in an electric wheelchair and abseiling off the Humber Bridge, all whilst being paralysed.
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He is now is the first person to complete the electric wheelchair record by reaching an average speed of 41.82mph.
Jason Liversidge, 46, is paralysed from the neck down from Motor Neurone Disease.
Terminally-ill Jason controlled the specially-adapted wheelchair with slight movements of switches around his head, allowing him to move forward, left and right.
Jason, of Hull, hadn’t even done a test run in the vehicle and had only tested the specially adapted controls once.
But on Monday, he raced around Elvington Race Track in York three times, clocking up speeds of up to 48pmh, giving him an average of 41.82mph.
He crashed into the surrounding grass twice, but completed the lap successfully the third time round.
Jason’s wife Liz, 49, said: “It’s a huge achievement – it would be an achievement for anyone to drive a head controlled vehicle, especially an abled bodied person as its never been done before.
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“But for somebody like Jason, who is as severely disabled as you get, who needs 24 hour care and can’t breath, move or get dressed on his own, it is just a huge achievement.”
Jason broke his first world record in 2020,when he recorded the fastest ride in an electric wheelchair after hitting 55pmh.
And the dad-of-two, who has heart failure, kidney failure and respiratory failure, now has a double page spread in the Guinness World Record book.
Brave Jason suffered from a cardiac arrest in May this year, where doctors thought it was ‘highly unlikely he would survive’.
But the determined dad was cheered on by his girls Lilly, ten, and Poppy, nine, who have now nicknamed him ‘Superman’.
Liz added: “They didn’t want him to do it at first. They were there at his first world record, and I think that was enough for them. But because he has been poorly lately, and in and out of hospital, they were not really looking forward to him going and doing it.
“Now he has done it and he is okay, they are immensely proud of him. They keep telling me how proud they are of daddy, and how he is amazing and they call him superman.”
Liz described her husband as ‘a bit of a speed freak’ when he was abled bodied, which is why he chose to keep doing these challenges.
“When he was abled bodied, he loved skiing, grass tracking, fast cars and fast motorbikes. Obviously he’s not able to drive them things, so it’s just a bit of an extension of that. He’s just a thrill seeker.”
Liz also shared a message to other people who are terminally ill, saying: “Obviously Motor Neurone Disease is a devastating condition, and people just become completely paralysed and locked in their own bodies.
“Some people do give up, and you can’t really blame them for doing that as you never know how you would react if you was in that situation yourself. If you’ve got the determination and the support and the will to do things, it does show that really nothing is impossible.
“I just want to raise awareness for this and conditions like Motor Neurone Disease. Even though we have not raised money on this occasion, it is always good to get it out there and raise awareness because obviously, the more awareness is raised, the more people will donate money.
“Hopefully in the future, it will be too late for Jason but hopefully they will find the cure.”
