For Ben

I'm attempting a Solo Channel Swim in memory of my pal Ben Bird

Ben was centre stage. Our leader, our joker, our confidant, our inspiration and most of all our friend.

'We' are the 'Lads', a group of six 40 somethings, who met at Loughborough University in 1989 and have stayed in touch ever since.

Ben was diagnosed with 'Man-in-the-barrel syndrome' Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Motor Neurone Disease in 2007.

He passed away at home on the 8th of May 2010 in the arms of his wife, our friend, Rachel.

The lads were numbed. Some of us took it better than others. None of us can even imagine what it must have been (and still is) like for Rach.

Ben leaves his wife and their three kids, Sam, Jacob and Hannah.

As if this tragic event wasn't enough - Ben and Rach's first born, their son Sam, after a difficulty at birth, has Cerebral Palsy, is confined to a wheel chair and communicates by moving his eyes left or right. You just couldn't make this up. Gut wrenching.

For a period in the family's life, Rachel was dealing with Sam's condition, whilst watching helplessly as Ben deteriorated from a fine figure of a man into the shell that MND had left him - only his eyes giving away the man we knew beneath. No movement, no japes, no nothing - just eyes looking at you trying to reassure us that he was the same Ben under it all that there ever was.

Rachel was amazing. She coped (outwardly anyhow) with both husband and a son chair-bound and needing 24hr care. Always smiling, talking about it with the humour that attracted us to the pair back in the day. She reassured us and broke the ice on our trips down to see them both and in the end acted as our interpreter. A difficult time for us, the lads. I just can't image was it must be like for her. A strong woman. She can always bank on our support.

But it's just not the same without him here...

So that's why it's MNDA. They provide careers and do fantastic research, hopfully one day finding a cure. I hope you see why I've chosen this charity. MND isn't going away any time soon, so even if we just raise a small amount, even if it just pays for few days of research time or a few days of caring, it will be worth every penny.

Please give if you can. If you can't - just say a little hello to Ben up there. He's watching, I know.

Love you Ben x

My Solo Channel Swim Attempt

Well what can I say? It's a long way, it's cold and it'll be painful. But having just re-read the bit about Ben above it all seem a bit insignificant by comparison. So I'll just say I'll do my bit or at least give it a good go. I won't be short of inspiration that's for sure.

I used to do a lot of swimming....til I met the lads at Uni strangely enough! So I can swim. I used to be a 100m Free and Fly specialist - so just add another 21 miles to that and I'm there!!

I picked a channel swim for Ben as it's something that a swimmer should do. A runner's marathon or a mountaineer's Everest if you like. And as someone once said - you should do something that scares you (although I think they said to do it every day - I haven't the heart for that!!).

So my attempt is for Ben. It is also a challenge that I have set myself, a challenge where the only thing standing between failure and success is me. Preparation, performance and perseverance - that's it!!

Thanks for reading this.

I'll give it my best, Ben.

Pete

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