My story

A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED 

Well done and thank you to everyone who rode alongside me yesterday.

All 13 riders finished the ride alot quicker than expected.

My total riding time was 4hours 32mins, our youngest rider Connor (13yrs old) finished it in 4hrs 45mins.

Chris Anstey, Jeremy Appleyard, Terry Thatcher, Tim Steele, Sam Hansford and Shaun Hughes' total riding time was 4hrs 55mins.

And Martyn Bowell, Matt and his other friend finished it about half an hour after them. They all did so well...thank you so much to all of them for supporting me.

---------------------------------------------------

On 5th August 2012 I have organised a Charity Bike Ride in aid of my niece Wren Bowell's recovery and to raise money for Headway Bristol Brain Injury Association Ltd. I will be riding alongside Martyn Bowell, Matt Smith, Sam Hansford, Chris Anstey, Connor Anstey, Jeremy Appleyard, Terry Thatcher, Tim Steel and Shaun Hughes.

 

On Tuesday 13 March 2012 Wren had a very nasty accident. Just after getting ready for her bedtime stories she fell over the gate to her room and landed on the pencil she was carrying. It went in through her right eye socket (narrowly missing the eye), punched through the skull and lodged 1.5 inches into the frontal lobe of her brain. She was taken to the RUH where they prepared her for surgery and she was then transferred to Frenchay in Bristol once they realised the seriousness of the injury.

She then underwent 6hrs of major surgery where the neuro surgeon removed the pencil. This involved removing a section of her skull! Against all the odds she was doing well enough to be woken up and she bypassed the intensive care unit, going straight to a ward.

After many fraught days Wren amazed all of us and was able to talk / walk /think and smile and was told by the eye doctors that they were confident there was no damage to the eye itself, the optic nerve or the muscles.

However, a week on, Wren had a CT scan to check what was going on as her temperature kept spiking; at first she was given the all clear, but unfortunately the doctors changed their minds after having another look at the scans and they decided she needed further antibiotics for 3 weeks as there was a small build-up of fluid on the brain! Wren was put under so that they could insert a more permanent cannula as she was having to have one put in 3 times a day (as they kept blocking up).

Wren finally came home on Wed 4th April and has made a remarkable recovery. For a week or so she had sleepless nights, waking up and crying saying about a pencil in her eye. Now she is back to normal and only a small scar on her eyelid and small scars by her ears from the craniotomy are visible.

Without the skill and expertise of the neuro surgeons at Frenchay Hospital, Wren may not have been so lucky. Also without the day to day care of the nurses and the support from the Playteam (a group of nursery workers who provide crafts, games and entertainment) things would have been unbearable for my sister and brother in law.

 

When Wren had her accident, I felt so helpless as I just didn’t know what I could do to support her, my sister and brother in law, and so I decided in aid of her recovery I would organise a bike ride to raise money for Headway Bristol.

At first it was only me taking part, but as you will see from the photo, many of my friends and family decided to support me and also take on the challenge and I am so grateful to all of them. We have been training really hard every week and are looking forward to the day itself.

 

We are really grateful to The White Post and Brendan the landlord who has agreed to open up early on the morning of the ride and provide bacon sandwiches for all of the riders and supporters to help us on our way. We have also been really lucky and gained the support of two other pubs along the cycle route. The Halsey Arms in Pulham have agreed to provide rolls and drinks for our lunch time stop and have also been kind enough to agree to donate the proceeds from their weekly Bingo to our chosen charity; and The Spyglass Inn, Weymouth have agreed that we can finish our ride there and will be providing their function room.

 

I hope to raise at least £1000 for Bristol Headway so if you can help me and the team to reach our target, we would be so grateful.

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

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.

My gallery 5

My Team

Team photo
Ride 4 Recovery

My company

My charity

Headway Bristol Brain Injury Association Limited

Headway Bristol Brain Injury Association Limited

Charity Registration No. 1007207

Headway Bristol is a charity based at Frenchay Hospital (a major trauma unit for the South West); we provide support services and information to anyone affected by brain injury. Our services include - a day centre, community support and outreach, support and services for families and carers.

Donations 84

smileys.png

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. THIS IS THE LAST.

Donation by Michelle Bowell on 30/01/13

£200.00

+ £50.00 Gift Aid

ThumbsUp.png

well done from The planning department of bristol city council

Donation by Michelle Bowell on 17/12/12

£55.00

windmill2.png

From aution of cars

Donation by Anonymous on 04/11/12

£990.00

+ £247.50 Gift Aid

Donation by Niels Kirschstein on 31/10/12

£830.00

smileys.png

well done on your marvelous achievement. (this doesn,t include the £20 cheque)

Donation by pcc slimming world group on 23/09/12

£12.50

+ £3.13 Gift Aid

trophy.png

well done to everyone

Donation by steve Tarling on 15/09/12

£30.00

smileys.png

well done to Damien, Martyn and all the cyclists, Glad Wren is doing well, she cheers us up everytime we see her in work.

Donation by Granny's work collegues at the hospital on 03/09/12

£89.00

+ £22.25 Gift Aid

thumbsUp.png

Well done Martyn, Damien and friends. From brooklin Models

Donation by Martyn Bowell on 22/08/12

£29.50

+ £7.38 Gift Aid

heart.png

well done to Wren's family and friends

Donation by caterpillars day nursery on 17/08/12

£37.50

+ £9.38 Gift Aid

ThumbsUp.png

Well done to everyone who completed the ride from the climbing gang and somerset north guiders

Donation by Anonymous on 13/08/12

£16.00

+ £4.00 Gift Aid

Trumpet.png

Well done to Damien, Martyn & all the other riders, a job well done.

Donation by Peasedown cc B ladies skittle team. on 10/08/12

£35.00

+ £8.75 Gift Aid

present.png

Well done, an amazing ride for an amazing little girl!

Donation by Lisa, Dominic and Kate Hegan on 06/08/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

present.png

Nice one Martyn and everyone involved - great effort and great cause Glad to hear Wren is doing so well!

Donation by Joseph Sparey + family on 06/08/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

Superman.png

Well done Martyn and friends. Hope the little one is well now.

Donation by Shaun Pettitt on 05/08/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

smileys.png

Good luck to Damien, Chris, Sam and the rest of the team!

Donation by Abby Rakes on 04/08/12

present.png

Good luck - great cause

Donation by Sarah Halford on 04/08/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

smileys.png

Good luck Martyn and everyone else!!

Donation by Ben Dolan on 04/08/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

Inmem.png

The very best of luck Damien and team - a great cause! Love Lizzie and Andrew x

Donation by Andrew Morris on 04/08/12

smileys.png

Donation by Rebecca Blight on 03/08/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

heart.png

All the best with the cycle ride Damien - keep going and pedalling hard.

Donation by Clair Hurley on 02/08/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

smileys.png

well done Damien - I hope the get to the target ...

Donation by Grenville Jones on 02/08/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

smileys.png

Good luck to Martyn, Damien and all the team. Real pleasure to film and meet you all this week. Wren is a star! All the best. Ali V BBC

Donation by Alison Vowles on 02/08/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

Good luck guys...what a great cause and so wonderful to see the recovery Wren has made.

Donation by Ami,Justin,Evie,Henry &Molly Rose Goold on 01/08/12

£5.00

+ £1.25 Gift Aid

Trophy.png

Good Luck. I hope every penny can help.

Donation by chris warren on 31/07/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

Inmem.png

Best of luck on your cyucle ride Damien , so pleased that your niece is on the mend, i have reposted on my page to help support you all xx

Donation by lisa killoran on 31/07/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

Donation summary

  • * Online donations£3,496.50
  • Offline donations£1,097.47
  • Text donations£0.00
  • Total raised£4,593.97
  • Gift Aid£625.75

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.