Following the eventual admission to Ward 43 of the RVI Newcastle I was subject to the usual Covid protocols relevant. I was greeted by a young Female Doctor whose name escapes me, she proceeded to inform me that I needed a Lumbar Puncture, for anyone who has not had a Lumbar Puncture it doesn’t sound particularly fun but given the staff are well versed in these situations of a mid 30’s man dressed in jeans and a puffer jacket who never had any type of invasive surgery or spent any time in hospital she could not have made me feel any more at ease, I had to sign the usual forms to say the procedure could paralyse me or affect nerves running in the spinal cord, Formalities over I had to lie on a bed in the fetal position while a needle was inserted in my Spinal cord to take a sample of fluid which would give the Doctors more of an idea of what was going on and also rule other Conditions out . Formalities and introductions are well and truly done I was moved onto a 4-bed section of Ward 43 and shared a room with others in similar positions with other conditions, the general feeling is that when you are admitted to the RVI you need some specialist treatment and around the clock care, Luckily you receive both and more in this fantastic hospital . I shared a room with a guy paralysed albeit temporarily from the neck down and someone I have kept in touch with after leaving the hospital and is a great guy and kept the heads of everyone else up in the ward. The ward staff were unbelievable and really couldn’t do enough, you don’t fully appreciate the hard work the NHS staff put in until you need it (and my wife works for the NHS) but they could not do enough, if you rang the buzzer at 3 am they were there in minutes no questions asked, truly inspirational . Onto the condition, Neuro Sarcoidosis, yea I had never heard of it either and up until about 6 months ago I still couldn’t spell it without the red line appearing underneath. So basically it is a long-term (chronic) disease of the central nervous system, which encompasses the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, and is characterized by inflammation within one or more of those areas, I had it particularly bad and still do in my spinal cord which brought on the following symptoms, Loss of balance, loss of sight, loss of hearing, nerve pain and problems with digestion, these were my main symptoms amongst some smaller issues. Another main issue was I couldn’t stand being in a room with more than one conversation going on which was ok in Covid times but being a long-time server to the construction industry this was no good for work-life, however, this has since become less of an issue with the treatment thankfully. The condition is rare and kind of identifies why my GP didn’t recognise any of the symptoms and kept sending me home with paracetamol however once in the hands of Dr James Miller of the RVI Neurological department he identified the condition within days, amongst some other more scary contenders I may add which led to some unwanted midnight phone calls between myself and the wife but Dr Miller was unbelievable in the way he identified but then issued treatment and had me up and on my feet within days and I had been near enough bed bound for 3 months at this stage and was finally discharged after 4 weeks on the ward and thankfully heading home, if not for the food in the hospital I would have gladly stayed in the hospital longer but the saying of hospital food I now know to be true however with the amazing support of family, friends, NHS staff and not missing out Work I felt confident enough to head home where I would continue rehabilitation and still am to this day. I am now under a Dr Spyropoulos in the RVI and my GP and rehab is going well but is a long process and can take years however a year down the line I am able to play a round of golf, enjoy the odd sociable drink and I’m back to work full time which is why I will be attempting this challenge albeit I probably won't play the full 72 holes but will certainly walk it while laughing at the rest . Anyway any donation towards this challenge would be greatly received and passed onto Ward 43 and the Neurological team in RVI to help continue their research and continue to help folk like myself"