The Tris Tri Challenge - it' s back with a new twist!

So this time it's Tristan and his friends doing the hard graft!

To say a huge "thank you" to Honeylands Specialst Assesment Centere we are raising funds for the charity before Tristan leaves to start school in September! The centre has been a vital source of therapy, friendship and fun for Tristan and the family over the last 4 years.

Tris has always loved being in the water, and is quite a phenomenon to watch as he floats completly independently in the pool or the sea. Over the last 6 months his walker has become a massive part of our lives and everyday we're on the seafront or beach, or trundling up and down the yard.

**The Challenge**
SWIM: Tris will paddle himself up and down the pool for 30 mins while I point him in the right direction and we see har far he can go.

CYCLE: Daddy (Matt) will drag Tris round Dartmoor on the back of his bike on his Weehoo (Tristan weighs19kgs). The more bumps the better!

RUN: Tristan and his friends will use their walking aids to get from the station road car park to Turf Locks (0.9miles).

Music:
Matt will then take over with an afternoon of music from his collective of musicians: Palmer&Falloon (acoustic folk-rock), Rosie Eade (aka The Folk Pixie) and TheSixtySix (Blues Rock covers).

Fun & Food:
Bouncy Castle, Garden games, Face painting, Cake and Jam sales, raffle and much more. Fantastic BBQ on the go by our hosts at the Turf.

So what is Honeylands and why is Tris there?

For those of you who dont know Tristan's story, here's a quick rundown..

Having got through unscathered from being born at 33 weeks from a leaky ship (my waters broke at 26), we took Tristan home after only 2 weeks in Exeter Neonatal Unit. Life was bumbling along and we were getting excited with the buildup of the London Olympics. At 5 weeks old Tris just became a bit quiet. He still wasn't right the next day so we took him to A&E. Within 20 minutes he was having lumber punctures and requiring assistance to breathe. By the end of the day he was intubated and we were 'blue lighted' to Bristol Childrens Hospital Intensive Care Unit. He remained in an induced coma for the next week. During this period it was identified that he was having almost continuous seizures. Once these came under control with medication our still very little Tristan started to come back to us. Just before leaving hospital he had an MRI scan of his brain. This showed that Tristan had sustained massive brain injury and not long after he was given the likely diognosis of diplegic cerebral palsey. We took him home and tried to get back into 'normal' life.

Over the last 4 years we have been attending Honeyland everyweek during term time to recieve support form physios, OT's, SALT, hydrotherapy and Music therapy as well as the all important play therapy led by some wonderful specialist nursery nurses, most notable Wendy. During this time Tristan was also diagnosed as having CVI a severe visual impairment as a result of his brain injury. To add to the trauma of coming to terms and getting on with life with a significantly disabled child my Mum, "Annie", died of cancer in 2014.

Honeylands have always been an absolutly amazing support to me with Tristan and everything in addition that has been thrown at us. We would not be the family we are if it wasn't for Honeylands. They have been our LIFELINE!

Please join us on the 31st July at the Turf Locks Pub, Starcross for a great day to celebrate honeylands and the wonderful children they support.

If there are any families who wish to participate in any part of the Tris Tri with a child who has attended honeyland please contact me.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.