Let us marvel at this superhero challenge

Owen West, 19, is refusing to let the spinal condition that has made him wheelchair-bound from holding him back. A keen sportsman, Owen plays wheelchair rugby for the Canterbury Hellfires and wheelchair basketball for the Folkstone Arrows. He is now going to have to muster all of his ability in captaining a team of 60 participants from across the UK to take part in a virtual summer challenge. It team member has a disability of some sort and have accepted the challenge of collectively traveling the equivalent of the circumference of the world in any way they can, be it in a wheelchair or using a walking frame. To be clear and to illustrate the scale of what they have taken on, the distance they will travel will be more than 46,000km. They have until August 20th to complete the task, with each participant logging progress daily. One of four teams taking part, Owen is leading the Captain America team, with his pet cat Oriel on his lap as his sidekick.

Every day, Owen is out on the street in his Captain America costume, putting in the distance. Should the weather get too hot, he even has a contingency having worked out that 136 laps of his living room equals 1km.

At the age of 15, Owen discovered he suffered from 3 rare genetic disorders – type 3 Loeys-Dietz syndrome, KBG Syndrome and CDK13. Because of these, he is unable to walk, has learning difficulties, is losing his eye-sight, and is often in pain. His mum Shelley West, though, is proud of her son for never complaining and never letting himself be beaten.

Through the challenge, Owen hopes to raise funds for Whizz-Kidz and Freedom for wheels. Both of whom have supported him in the difficult times he has had.

You can donate via the following JustGiving pages

Whizz-Kidz – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/shelley-west5?fbclid=IwAR0U9o0p4HUWH2oZ3MNXvghaJiJFOzsjOfa3I8FwSU5E7vC__wVtkred5KI

Freedom for Wheels – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/owenwest?fbclid=IwAR09wbTTlRbkW81djUCtemDCmWK0GLfz_qzQqlOwUL7kVjhUNe11R2fnJS0

Please give generously if you can to help get essential funding to these very worthy organizations.

For the full story, visit the KentOnline article.