A year to the day on the 26th September (The day of the Robin Hood) I was sat in hospital waiting for a metal plate to be inserted into my knee following a freak accident at a football match where I effectively broke my knee and tore out most of my cartilage. I was unable to walk without crutches for weeks and had to go through a slow rehabilitation process. I spend most of my days in pain (although I do have some better days now) and could be left with a permanent limp (we'll see about that!!) My progress was somewhat halted in January when I contracted covid (which wasn't fun) and spent a couple of months in bed. This is going to be such a hard challenge for me to complete, but my challenge, the reason I am doing this and my story actually started a long time before I broke my leg........

For as long as I can remember I have suffered with very severe OCD. It has been a closely guarded secret that only family members and a handful of close friends know. So why am I choosing now to reveal this? Well it is exactly what is driving me to complete this ridiculous challenge, and I am hoping by reading this you will donate. Telling this story is likely to be cathartic but the whole reason I am doing this is to raise money and help people. Most of you reading would have had absolutely no idea (that's the beauty of what they call the secret disorder) for some you may be putting 2 and 2 together and getting 4!

Whilst I am in a fantastic place right now, over the years I've had some pretty hard times. There have been days I've not wanted to get out of bed. It exploded on a monumental scale when I was 19 and has been a struggle since. You'll forgive me if I don't elaborate further, telling people is very new to me.

Part of the reason I am doing is, is to raise awareness. A friend recently told me they were suffering with a mental disorder quite openly on social media and it got me thinking. It was only up till recently that I realised that it's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of (losing your ego as you get older helps). Mind give people a place to go, someone to talk to, to get the ball rolling, maybe even to prevent the unthinkable. I have been quite lucky, I have a loving family and great friendships, not everyone has this, and lets face it, not everyone wants to tell their loved ones.....I didn't!

My plans now are to keep up my own good fight against it, but try help others, especially young people. The first time it reveals itself is pretty scary, its a good time to speak to someone. That goes for any disorder or mental health issue. I want to raise as much money as possible. This genuinely means a lot to me. More than I can put into words, and this will be painful trust me, and telling you this story is one of the scariest things I have ever done.

Thank you for listening to my story and I hope you can help support my challenge to walk the Robin Hood Half Marathon.

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