THE CHALLENGE

In August 2011, I shall begin a walk I have only ever been able to dream about: I plan to follow the South West Coast path, from start to finish!  The South West Coast Path begins in Minehead, Somerset and winds its way around the South West Peninsula, culminating in Poole, Dorset.  The entire length of the path is 630 miles which I aim to complete in 6-7 weeks.

THE REASON

In my early teens, I began to notice a discomfort in my knees when I was walking or indeed, doing any form of exercise.  This was soon diagnosed as a Valgus Deformity of the lower limbs (severe knock knees).  The unnatural position of my right knee meant that I was having arthritic symptoms in my knees and hips by the time I was 18 and had to resort to using crutches on a regular basis to aid walking.

I met with a consultant, Mr Jackson, at the Bristol Royal Infirmary who said he could fix my legs with a couple of rather complex operations.  The first of these involved breaking, rotating and plating my femur.  The second was a somewhat lengthier procedure;  the surgical team at Bristol had to break my tibia and fibula and attach a Taylor Spatial Frame which was then used to gradually manipulate the lower part of my leg into the correct position over a period of several months.

The final leg (excuse the pun) of my journey through medical marvels was completed at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton with an operation to remove the metal plate from my femur.  This happened in April 2010, finally leaving me completely pain free in my right leg.  Since surgery, I have been recovering incredibly quickly and have been able to cycle and even jog short distances! 

To me, this is a miracle and I shall always be grateful to the incredible team who put me back together to enjoy life to the full.  I now feel I should give something back and have decided this walk will be the best way to test their handiwork to the limit whilst raising funds for the Orthopaedic Department in Bristol. 

During early physiotherapy, I used a Continual Passive Movement (CPM) machine in Bristol.  To you and me, it is the knee bending machine which helps regain movement following surgery.  The machine I used was rather rickety and so I hope to raise enough money to buy the department a new up to date machine which doesn’t break down on a regular basis!

So please, help me achieve my goal of giving something back to the people who have given me the ability to walk pain free, and sponsor me on my challenge.  People are more than welcome to join me on my journey around the wilds of the South West... The more the merrier!

Thank you

Shelley

PS - For more information, please visit www.walkthecoast.org

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