This was a brilliant challenge and an incredible experience for me on very many levels; from flying out to Zimbabwe on my own and without children (sweet experience) to the near drowning on the final rapid ‘ghost-rider’ when I got sucked into a whirlpool, didn’t breath for nearly 3 minutes and had to be revived (very painful and not nearly so sweet).The near drowning experience made me realise that there are more things to life than work and money, with family life being the most important as it goes by all too quickly and when it’s gone, it’s gone and there is no going back!I also realised that raising money for a worthwhile cause is extremely rewarding and although it is understandably difficult asking and getting people to part with their hard earned money, it is vitally important that we continue to contribute to such life saving and life changing causes such as the Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA).Although the majority of people who have donated through sponsoring me live in Wiltshire, I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who do not live in Wiltshire who have supported me on a personal level by also donating. The donating and support was a constant encouragement to me without which, this challenge would not have been possible.

The WAA is going through lots of changes due to new government initiatives, which simply means they need to raise even more money than before.The current dual role helicopter will become a sole Police helicopter at the end of 2014 and therefore the WAA needs to obtain and finance its own helicopter from the end of this year.

I am planning to undertake further adventure challenges this year in order to raise additional sponsorship for the Air Ambulance and I’d very much appreciate your continued support.

 

Having decided that I wanted to take on the challenge of a life time and at the same time raise money for a worthy cause I find myself with the daunting prospect of raising as much money as possible for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Trust, with an initial target of £1000.  Even more exhilarating is the challenge that I am taking on! I will be taking on the mighty Zambezi river in Zambia, one of the biggest white-water rivers in the world, a river that boasts crocodiles, bull sharks and hungry hippos amongst its residents.

The trip will involve 5 days of exhausting paddling, taking on rapids that go by such names as 'Oblivion', 'The Devil's Toilet Bowl' and 'The Washing Machine' - all in temperatures that can reach 45°C. Evenings will be spent pitching a tent riverside, helping to cook dinner and discussing how glad we are to be here and whose turn is it to empty the portable toilet!

The Wiltshire Air Ambulance Trust is my chosen charity because it could be vital to any resident of Wiltshire and to anybody visiting or driving through.  Please see http://www.wiltshireairambulance.co.uk/what-we-do/incidents to really understand the importance of this cause!

From the time a call comes into the unit, they can be at an emergency within eleven minute, day or night – because they are currently the only Air Ambulance flying at night.

They have very skilled crew on board the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and it’s the speed at which they can arrive and the kinds of areas the helicopter can land in, (which might not be accessible by road), which can give those injured quicker access to medical attention.

You might have heard the expression ‘golden hour’ – it’s the 60 minutes after an incident’s taken place. If a patient receives medical attention in that time it can minimise the risk of life-changing injuries, or in some cases, death.

Almost half of the calls they attend are on Wiltshire’s country roads or motorways. But that’s not all they do.

No two days are the same for the crew who can get called out to cardiac arrests, injuries at work, sporting injuries, farm accidents, burns victims and horse riding accidents.

Through Justgiving.com/stuart-foulstone, you can sponsor me and donations will be quickly processed and passed to The Wiltshire Air Ambulance Trust or you can text STUT99 £5 to 70070.

This is the challenge of a lifetime, I have personally paid for the challenge and therefore 100% of the donations go directly to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Trust! Please, please donate to help me reach my goal!

Thankyou for the support!

Stuart

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.

So please dig deep and donate now.