CHALLENGE COMPLETED!

Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge completed! Set off at 7.01 on Friday 1 September, finished at 18.25. After my stroke in Jan 2022, I felt completely undone, and worried that the rest of my life would be lived in greyscale.

Now, even with fatigue and occasional right side weakness, I still managed to walk 25 miles and to shout “f*ck you, stroke” at the summits of Yorkshire’s highest peaks. You *can* live in screaming colour after an acquired brain injury.

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On 15 January 2022, I suffered a severe stroke. I was 32. 

Despite a barrage of tests, there doesn’t seem to be any explanation as to what caused it - the verdict seems to be that I’ve just been massively unlucky.

My speech and cognition all but disappeared overnight. Over the last nine months, I’ve rebuilt my ability to communicate, and my recovery will continue in the coming weeks, months and years.

Over the last few months, when I needed to get away from GP/consultant appointments and OT/speech therapy sessions, I’ve gone for walks. To get away from my inability to find the right words. To vent my frustration. To feel how unfair all of this is. 

Because I’m stubborn, pissed off, and because I’m not letting my stroke dictate my abilities, I decided to start training for the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

I’m not picking a set date for my walk at this time, but I’ll continue to train through autumn/winter, and in late spring 2023 I’ll be setting off from Horton-in-Ribblesdale. I promise to shout “F**k you, stroke!” at each of the summits.

I'm fundraising for SameYou and I'm hoping to raise £250 to support stroke/brain injury recovery now and in the future. Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is caused by injury to the brain after birth. This includes strokes, tumours, concussions and accidents. 1 in 3 people will have an Acquired Brain Injury at some point in their lives but this is hardly ever talked about and survivors often face stigma. SameYou want to change this. They are working to break the silence around brain injury and help give people the best possible chance of recovery after leaving hospital. Any donation would help and would be really appreciated. If you are interested in learning more, go to: https://www.sameyou.org

UPDATE - Thank you so much for the donations so far. I’ve updated my target and hopefully I can push the £700 mark. Again - thank you, thank you, thank you.