Great that you have come through to my JustGiving Page. Some of you know that I had about 14 months of pain and discomfort due to a Bakers Cyst behind my knee. For several months I was challenged to walk to the local post office (100 metres) without needing to sit down. If I sat on a train or a bus or drove for more than 2 hours, it was hard to walk without extreme pain when I got out. Sleep was difficult at times and I was prescribed different painkillers, many of which made me feel even more ill. I genuinely never thought I would be able to do a family Sunday walk again.

Now, nearly 2 years later and after brilliant structured rehab guided by fabulous physiotherapists I am skipping to the post office and am well enough to consider walking the entire perimeter of Hampstead Heath. This is thanks to using a brace for up to 8 hours a day. After 12 weeks of using the brace I no longer need it and I can do the can-can!

I will be doing the walk round Hampstead Heath on Saturday 20th September in the company of a group of hugely inspirational individuals. People who live with aphasia, which is what can happen to you if you have a stroke or head injury. It is where you lose some of your capacity to use or understand language, spoken or written. Some of them also have some mobility issues caused by the stroke and walk with a stick or use a wheelchair.

We are walking as a group to raise money for Aphasia Reconnect, a small national charity which I have worked alongside for about 25 years now. You can find out more about their vision and their mission here https://aphasiareconnect.org/