Richard's Ride

My dream is to make a video game, initially this fundraiser was to raise money for my local NHS trust and to try and help me cover some of the costs of pursuing my dream. However, due to the number of donations I decided to amend it so that all donations went to the NHS instead.

You might wonder what raising money for the NHS has to do with me wanting to make a video game, which is a reasonable thing to wonder! While doing this challenge I decided, I want my game to be more than just a game and to give something back to people, should I ever manage it I would like a portion of the profits to go towards good causes and I now intend to undertake more fundraisers and raise money for charities as I work towards my dream! I just hope that they are a little more successful in the future.

I am raising money by riding 1,407km from Lands End to John O'Groats without leaving my living room. Although I have to work in kilometres because my bike doesn't do miles.

I began my journey on the 1st of June,  each day that I finish a session on my bike I take a picture of the distance so that I can record the results as it will probably take me over a month to complete this challenge.

Who am I?

I'm Richard, a 32 year old autistic type 1 diabetic who has had depression and mental health problems for 17 years. I am one of those annoying people who has never been entirely well. My earliest memory is of being in some magnolia coloured room, looking up but the room is obscured by a transparent barrier. My mother tells me that when I was 2 I developed croup and was admitted to intensive care where over night all the other patients on the ward passed away. Although I would have to check up with her for the full story.

At age 14 I managed to develop type 1 diabetes which presented me with a significant change which I had to adjust to at a time when people are already having to get used to all manner of changes.

When I was 15 I was diagnosed with depression, the anxieties I experienced as a result of this condition ultimately led to me being unable to complete my education. One morning I woke up, I wanted to go to school and I knew that I should go, but I just couldn't bring myself to do so. This simple task was something more than I could bear. I am haunted by this almost every night when I go to bed because most nights I end up dreaming about being at school or of someone I used to know despite it happening so long ago. I am so tired of dreaming about being at school...

Last year I also managed to catch autism! Or rather, I was finally diagnosed as having the condition. There are lots of things I don't understand, people baffle me. There are people who look down on those who have mental health issues, this stigmatism is by far the greater illness than those who are suffering with problems they cannot control. I would describe my autism as being like a mad scientist syndrome. If something interest me it becomes my sole focus, but if it doesn't then I don't care about it. Think, Doc Brown from Back to the Future.

Safe to say, I have things stacked against me. But perhaps the biggest barrier is that people tend to tell you that you cannot do something. When you are constantly met with people who no matter what evidence you give them that you can do something continue to tell you that actually, no you can't. Is it really surprising when people just stop trying altogether?

I am doing this fundraiser and I am working to create my game because they are both things I want to do despite things being stacked against me! I will be the one to decide whether I can or cannot do something and even if it looks like I might not be able to do it, I'm going to try anyway!

The video game I am working towards creating is called Empyrémon and the aim is to create a Pokémon style game for a more mature audience. You can check out what I have been doing on the Facebook page and if you wish to donate towards helping me achieve my dream you can do so on the GoFundMe and Patreon pages.

https://www.facebook.com/EmpyrealMonsters/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/empyremon-a-pokemon-inspired-game

https://www.patreon.com/Empyremon?fan_landing=true

For now, this fund raiser is just me and my bike against the world! Any donations will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Richard.