A MAN who woke up paralysed is aiming to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in his latest charity crusade. 

Jamie McAnsh from Cwmbran has already climbed Mount Everest on crutches and now he’s aiming to tackle the African peak in bid to raise tens of thousands of pounds.

He has complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) which causes persistent severe and debilitating pain, appeared on GBNews to talk about his latest challenge. 

Ten years ago the former salesman’s life was suddenly turned upside down when he went to bed and woke up paralysed from the waist down, following a bout of shingles.

He was eventually diagnosed with CRPS, an uncommon condition which causes persistent severe and debilitating pain that can be triggered by an injury or virus.

 The former climber, avid runner and motorbike enthusiast embarked on a long and gruelling recovery which has seen him gain some mobility.

He uses a wheelchair and relies on specialist crutches to help him walk.

Jamie originally had shingles which attacked his spinal column.

After experiencing a spasm on January 7, 2014, which ruptured his spine, he woke up completely paralysed.

Despite this, he was determined he would walk again, with a complete diagnosis 13 months later.

Outlining how it impacted him, Jamie continued: “Everything changed. I went down that whole journey of mental health and wellbeing.

"I was the guy that wore a mask who told everybody that I was okay. When actually deep down, I was falling apart.

"And then that stress led to a suicide attempt. And that was when my life really changed at that point. It was when I hit rock bottom.

“Once you're at the bottom, you can't go any further right? You can only go forward. That's when I found support.

"That's when I found basketball. That's when I got into a network of people, and that's when things started building confidence and I just started getting better and better and better.

“Then I went to my physiotherapy and I started hydrotherapy, electroshock therapy, and mental therapy. And then you know from there, I just progressed and got better and better.”

Jamie had wanted to climb Everest since he was seven, and, having completed that challenge, is now focused on Kilimanjaro.

He said: “I've been sponsored and supported by an organisation called Thuasne and they make composite carbon fibre legs called Spry Kafos which is like an external leg with a blade, like an Olympic blade which goes down into the sole of my foot. 

“What that will do is it will store the energy as I step forward and release the energy when I step away.

"It will completely support my limbs with the addition of a back brace, which will then support my spine.

“The idea of the challenge is to walk Kilimanjaro without the use of crutches.  I want to be able to do it without using crutches and completely unaided.

"The legs are being made as we speak. I'm always up for doing something and I'm always up for challenges because it keeps me going.”

Determined not to let his severe disability affect his ambitions Jamie battled against adversity and found relief in sport, completing 12 extreme challenges in 12 months and raising £250,000 for charity.

To find out more including how to support Jamie  click here.