On 10th October 2016 my sister Maria had an accident on her horse and cart and to date we do not know how this happened. Maria suffered a traumatic brain injury and was air lifted by the Great Western Air Ambulance Helicopter direct to Southmead Hospital.

After a 4 hour operation she was given a 50/50 chance of survival. She spent 34 days in ITU followed by 73 days being looked after by the neurological ward team in Southmead. After this she was transferred to Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit. Maria was finally discharged from Frenchay BIRU on 15th May 2017 but still has Headway Carers assisting her.

On the anniversary of her accident I am undertaking a 60 mile cycle ride to cover the journey she took from the accident scene in Bleadon to Southmead Hospital then onto Frenchay BIRU finally returning back to her home in Weston-super-Mare.

I am hoping to raise £218 (£1 for each day Maria was in Hospital) for both the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity via www.justgiving.com/mariasjourney and this page for Headway Bristol. If if you would like to donate to one or both of these charities please do so on the appropriate page.

This is the first in what will be an annual challenge to thank those charities who helped save Maria and assist her recovery. Who knows perhaps next year Maria may be well enough to join me on the challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Jason P Belcher

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.