Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am fundraising for my husband Martin (or  'Archie" as he's known) who has been an inspiration to me over the years as a model of resilience and tenacity for keeping going despite adversity.

Here's his story (shared with his permission)... 

Aged 38 Martin had a major heart trauma incident - his aorta literally broke away from his heart and he was bleeding out -an 80% mortality rate and yet he survived against the odds.   But post-op he suffered three major strokes and wasn’t expected to pull through. After months in a coma he did albeit with life changing disabilities.  It took him over a year of intensive rehabilitation in hospital, to learn to walk and talk again, and with the support of his family he was able to come home.  

During the next decade Martin challenged himself to keep going, to strive to get better.  Although being very unsteady he managed to walk the rough terrain of the West Highland Way for charity; moved into his own home to live independently; met and married me; already a doting dad to Kelly and Abbie he became a dad again - and despite having severe communication problems - he taught our son, Ben, to walk and talk as a toddler. 

The past few years have been tough for Martin though.  He had a fall and banged his head, damaging the part of the brain that had been helping him function well - so although he didn’t suffer another stroke, the physical impact was the same.  He was back to rehab and a year of intensive physio followed to help him walk again. 

Just as he was becoming more mobile, he caught an chest infection which led to heart failure and sepsis.  Yet again he was gravely ill and not expected to survive.  A month in intensive care, multiple operations and heart attacks followed and with a fantastic medical team fighting for him he somehow managed to pull through.  This time though, despite rehab and physio, his mobility has been badly affected and his independence has been hugely curtailed as he is unable to go out of the house unaided.

I’d like to send him on a respite trip and have discovered this charity, ACROSS, who can offer Martin his first independent trip overseas to France on a specially adapted bus with full carer support.  This trip would give Martin a real great sense of freedom and allow him to travel without relying on his family.  The trip will take place in August this year and there’s a space on it for him if we can raise the funds.  The trip will cost £800 and if anyone feels able to contribute at all through this page for this great charity then Martin and I would be so grateful.

Thanks for your support.

Tracy

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