Inspiring Morecambe dad to take on Zambezi canoe challenge

Shaun Gash is aiming to set a Guinness world record and raise £100,000 for charity in a remarkable African river canoe challenge.

Shaun will join two other intrepid paraplegics Michelle Moffatt and Liam Morris in canoeing 240km down the Zambezi River in just six days, starting at Chirundu in Zambia and finishing at the Mozambique border.

The trio will spend up to seven hours a day in canoes in searing heat, facing potential dangers from hippos to pressure sores.

Michelle is also a stoma wearer and Shaun an amputee, after an attempt to summit Ben Nevis in 2018.

Shaun was paralysed from the chest down aged just 20 when he was a back seat passenger in a car accident.

Since then the father of three from Morecambe has completed a series of epic challenges including summiting Kilimanjaro, skydiving and completing 100KM–plus obstacle courses

raising thousands for charity.

Just weeks before taking on the Zambezi River, the 53 year-old will be tackling an adaptive scuba diving challenge.

“I’ve always pushed and challenged myself and while my old life ended that night in 1991, I was given a new life and I want to make the most of it,” said Shaun who will be joined by his wife Dawn and eldest daughter Sharna.

“By challenging myself I hope to inspire others. If I can change a person’s mindset in a positive way then that’s amazing and I’m always really humbled when people say I have made a difference.”

Shaun, international product specialist for RGK Wheelchairs, added: “I don’t want to look back and think ‘I wish I’d done that’ I want to look back and think ‘I did that’. And along the way I’m supporting two great charities - it’s all about giving back.

Liam Morris, 34, from Askham-in-Furness, Cumbria, was paralysed from the waist down in a motorcross accident 11 years ago.

“There really is nothing I can’t do, I just have to adapt and adjust things to find a way which is why when I heard about Shaun’s plan to canoe down the Zambezi I wanted to be part of it,” said Liam who will be joined by his father Darren.

“I know it is going to be really hard – not just the canoeing but also the temperatures, the environment, toileting and practically getting in and out of the canoes – but we will find a way to overcome all of these challenges. It’s going to be amazing!”

Former critical care nurse Michelle Moffatt’s life changed in an instant when she bent down to pick up a pen on a night shift at Glasgow’s Golden Jubilee Hospital in 2019.

A prolapsed disc had gone into her spinal cord.

Post-surgery complications then caused a bleed on her spine leaving the mum-of-four from Dumbarton paralysed from the waist down.

“I’m under no illusions it’s going to be hard but I’m so excited about doing something I would never have dreamed of doing as an abled bodied person,” said Michelle.

The incredible challenge aims to raise £100,000 for the charities Spinal Research and Whizz Kidz.

To support Shaun, Liam and Michelle go to the Zambezi Canoe Challenge GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/paraplegic-amputee-zambezi-canoe-trek