mark tonks
Mark's The Long Walk Home
Fundraising for Buddy Bag Foundation
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page, here's my story.............
On April 10th last year I suffered a heart attack aged 53, a shock to say the least following a life time of playing sport and certainly not part of my life plan. The initial diagnosis suggested non intrusive surgery involving the fitting of a stent however after further medical assessments it was discovered that I had 5 blockages in the main arteries supplying blood to the heart and therefore I required major heart surgery. On April 27th I underwent a triple heart by pass operation and spent a further week in hospital. On May 4th I returned home having spent a total of 25 days in hospital.
I had a lot of time to think during my stay and can still remember as clear as daylight wondering to myself how long it would take to walk home. I don't know why that thought struck me or indeed why it stuck with me, but stick it did.
On Sunday May 1st, almost a year to the day that I returned home after a month in hospital, I plan to walk from The Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke on Trent to The Crown Pub in Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield. The distance is around 35 miles and I reckon it will take something like 13-14 hours, not bad for a Sunday walk I think you would agree. My goal is to raise £10,000 which will be split between two great charities, The Buddy Bag Foundation and The British Heart Foundation
I would truly welcome your support financially to achieve the £10k goal but also if you fancy joining me on the walk the more the merrier. I've already got some of my friends and business buddies coming with me, Peter Howard from PHD Design, Paul Tranter from PERA, Chris Williams from Live Love Laugh, Mark Petty from Dimension Data, several of my mates from Veseyans RFC and the Elephant Wanderers Cricket Club. Should be fun, a lot of laughs, maybe a tear or two and plenty of blisters!!
I'll keep you posted so watch this space
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