Medical marvel A-laster pedals to Geneva
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A medical marvel who
was named Alaster after he almost died at birth is to cycle to
Alaster Osborne,
22, of The Fridays, East Dean, was left with a hole in the left temple lobe of
his brain after he was starved of oxygen.
He spent two
weeks in intensive care as worried parents Mark and Lisa kept a bedside vigil.
After eight weeks
in hospital, he made a full recovery but was diagnosed with epilepsy and
suffered his first seizure when he was just two.
At the age of 17,
he had five fits in one day but his condition is now finally under control.
Now the keen
cyclist is gearing up for a mammoth bike ride from
He said: “I’m
very lucky in all fairness because a lot of people who have suffered with
similar problems have not made such a recovery.
“It has affected
me but not in a physical way, more so my memory and speech.
“My dad wanted to
call me Alastair but because I almost died when I was born, my parents called
me Alaster as in A laster.”
Alaster will also
be running the first-ever Brighton Marathon on April 18 to boost funds for the
life-saving charity which needs £1.7m-a-year to stay airborne.
The former Chyngton
primary and Seaford Head pupil is unable to drive because of his epilepsy so he
cycles the 20-mile round trip to and from work each day.
At weekends, he
regularly cycles a further 50miles on his £3,800 Trek Madone racing bike – the
same model used by Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France last year.
Alaster has also
been training for his epic 1,100 mile ride by running 17 kilometres a day.
He said: “I was
watching TV when I saw the great work that the helicopter does in saving
people’s lives. I’m really amazed at what they do.
“I do so much
cycling that I thought it made sense to do it for charity. I started running
because I thought it would improve my fitness.
“I’m confident I
can do the
“My medical
condition has made me think even more about how important it is to have a
helicopter emergency medical service.”
Riders taking
part in the nine-day trip to
They will then tackle
the 1,232-metre-high Col de la Faucille featured in the Tour de France.
Alaster, a
factory worker for Aspen Pumps in Hailsham, has also signed up to become a
fundraising volunteer for the Sussex Air Ambulance.
If you would like
to sponsor him visit www.justgiving.com/Aliosborne.
