It may sound cliché to say it but in June 2015 my life really did flash before my eyes. Overnight I went from being an active, hardworking family man to facing paralysis from Guillain-Barré syndrome. This 1 in 100,000 illness caused me to stay in hospital for 5 months and forced me to relearn many life skills, the most challenging of which was learning to walk again.

As many of you have seen in recent months I am now on the road to recovery, however I do still have some way to go. This would not have been possible without the hard work, dedication and encouragement I received during my time at The Central England Rehabilitation Unit (CERU) in Leamington. I now feel it is time to try and give something back. In order to support the current and future patients at this often unrecognised rehab unit, I will be doing the Santa Dash (Slow walk!) around Draycote Water on 18th December 2016. This is approximately a 5 Mile run/walk/crawl around the reservoir whilst dressed as Father Christmas. This is something I did prior to my illness and have aspired to do again.

As this is a sponsored activity I am once again going to call upon the generosities of my ever growing support network and ask if you would be kind enough to sponsor myself, my family and my friends as we complete this activity together.

As a side note I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and family for their kindness, generosity and support during this difficult time. It would not have been possible without you.

Garry x