Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
It's now four years since my second Bone Marrow Transplant (first one related, second one a matched unrelated donor) and having got this far, I think it is time I did something to help other Transplant patients and Cancer sufferers get the benefit of better facilities within Southampton General Hospital. Hence my choice of "The Red & White Appeal". http://www.suht.nhs.uk/AboutTheTrust/Charity/TheRedWhiteAppeal.aspx
Most if not all of you will luckily not have had to go through the horrors of a Transplant or Cancer Treatment - words could not sufficiently describe the trauma and pain that a patient goes through. Anything that can be done to alleviate this can only be good. At the moment, the facilities for cancer sufferers are cramped with a lack of beds and spread over a wide area of the hospital. This is very upsetting to any patient given the lack of privacy which results, especially given the amount of time spent there.The appeal aims to remedy the situation. Please have a look at the link above for details.
You might think that going Cross Country skiing is a lovely way to raise money. However, this is no ordinary ski trip - it is a race run each year covering 70kms with some very steep stretches and will be no mean task completing within the allotted time. At the time of writing, it seems quite daunting having never done anything like this before and contrary to popular opinion, I am no pro at Cross country skiing (as some of you will have witnessed!). So this is a challenge and a half. You can see details of the race at www.marcialonga.it
1ST JAN 2010 - UPDATE
Well! just four weeks to go and the training has been intensive - that is until I went down with flu or something horrible like it over Christmas. That put a spanner in the works for ten days but I am now back in training mode!! I had a little trip to Norway before Christmas for some ski training and equipping which went well, so I'm feeling a little more confident than I did before. A big thank-you to those who have donated to my cause. It's greatly appreciated.
31ST JANUARY 2010
I DID IT!!
The big day arrived, and boy what a day. I was up at 5.30am having not slept much as you can imagine. We had to be on the bus at 7.15am to get to the start and when I got there, the scene was unbelievable. Thousands of people milling around and preparing for the race which started at 8.30 with the best people going first. We set off in groups of 500, with 6000 people in the race.
The first 20kms was up hill with some nasty steep stretches thrown in. The biggest challenge was not to get caught up in any pile ups of falling skiers. Still, I managed to fall a couple of times which put me off my stride! The next 40kms was a gentle downhill with some steep uphill stretches again. This should have been the easy part, but you had to get going or the other competitors just shot past you. The last 10kms was the hardest - so close but yet so far, with the worst bit to come. The final 3kms was virtually virtical up to a town called Cavalese. This was an almighty slog and everyone just had to doggedly marched up to the end. I've never been so pleased to see a finish line in my life, and thankfully, my wife Joanna was there to meet me!
The most amazing experience, particularly towards the end with crowds cheering you on. I did manage to fall over on the final straight, but by that stage, I really didn't care!! The fastest time was 3hrs 2mins. The slowest 9hrs 50mins. I managed it in 7hrs 21mins. I could barely stand let alone walk at the end! However, I'm chuffed to bits I managed it.
Once again, a huge thank-you to all those who have supported both me and The Red & White Appeal. For anyone else wanting to donate, this site will remain open until the end of February and all donations are greatly appreciated not to mention needed.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
