A friend of mine Ben Wagon (23) a helicopter engineer with the Royal Navy was in a serious car cash in October 2011, tradgically his girlfriend Justine did not survive and Ben was in a critical condition at the Wessex Neurological Unit in Southampton General Hospital for several weeks where he received amazing treatment which put bluntly saved his life, once well enough he was moved to the specialist military rehabilitation unit Headley Court - the Help for Heroes funded MoD unit in Surrey - to continue his recovery. Ben has been at Headley Court since Xmas but at weekends he goes to SSAFA Norton House, who offer short-term accommodation to wounded service personnel and their families allowing them to spend quality time together away from the hospital environment. I occasionally visit Ben at weekends and see at first hand the work and support they give not only to Ben but his parents Tracey and Richard.

Its been incredible to witness first hand the progress Ben has made and made me get off by backside and support at least one of the organizations that have helped Ben on his journey to recovery.

 

I am going to walk from the Southampton General to Norton House a distance of about 70 miles with my brother in-law Neil starting on the 10th May 2012 over the course of 3 days. Now, this isn't sitting in a bath of beans, waxing my legs or having my head shaved; this is genuinely going to require a lot of dedication and commitment. I am excited and apprehensive, but most importantly serious about this undertaking. I see this as a real personal endeavor, and hope you do to. I am therefore not going to be shy asking for money from you. Whilst I know that times aren't brilliant at the moment and most people are being understandably cautious, I'm doing this to raise cash for a very worthwhile charity. I'm getting off my backside and really doing something meaningful - I want your support!! This is a proper challenge and I want to raise proper money!! 

 

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.

 

If you have read this far please just spend another minute and make a donation no matter how small. I really appreciate your support and thank you very much for any donations - all amounts are greatly received.

P.S.  Ben will be walking at least the last five miles with us.