Hi, it's Rita Stroud/Cheryl Baker here!
I did it!!! Yes, miracles can happen! I completed the 13.1 miles Great North Run on Sunday 20th September. It was a glorious morning up in Newcastle where the run started at 10.40am for me and about 54 thousand others, including Jay Aston, Anna Skinner and Susie Lovell. For a good few years now, Susie (Godmother to our children) has pleeeeaded with me to do this run with her. In a moment of insanity a few months ago, I finally conceded. Our time, giving a few minutes for stops for interviews and a wee, was 2 hours 41 minutes, which I am thrilled about. I really didn't think I would do it in less than 3 hours. The momentum on the day just carried us faster. I ran for HEADFIRST, a charity which many of you are aware is very close to my heart. For those of you who need to know more, read on:
It was 11th December 1984 and Bucks Fizz had just finished performing in Newcastle. We had a 15-minute journey back to our hotel but disaster struck mid-journey. We collided with a lorry coming in the opposite direction and Mike Nolan and I were thrown through the windscreen. I broke 3 vertebrae and had cuts and bruises, Mike was not so lucky. After more than 24 hours of being relatively OK, he deteriorated and was rushed into the emergency operating room to remove a blood clot from his brain. His life hung in the balance but he managed to pull through. The outcome of the accident, though, was to change Mike's life forever. He suffered his first epileptic fit in my arms and was subsequently prescribed powerful drugs to combat the epilepsy. His eyesight was reduced to tunnel vision. He had no sense of taste or smell. He had terrible mood swings and was constantly tired. He had appalling short-term memory loss. That was 25 years ago. Although his senses of taste and smell have returned somewhat and he is not so moody, he still has tunnel vision, short-term memory loss and takes powerful drugs for epilepsy. Through research, we now know that Mike's blood clot may have been avoided.
HEADFIRST researches into brain damage caused through accident, stroke or disease. It is totally voluntarily run, so every £ donated will go towards helping people like Mike and, hopefully, preventing them having to suffer as he has.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support.
Cheryl/Rita xxxx
p.s. Read on to know more about JustGiving.
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