My name is Tim Lambrechts and I'd like to tell you about the events that have led up to me undertaking this challenge.

I was born in 1958 with a hole in my heart. My life expectancy was limited and my parents had to make the difficult decision whether or not to allow surgeons to operate. They put their trust in the NHS and the staff at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and decided to go ahead with the surgery.
I am told that at the age of 15 months I was at that time, one of the youngest children to undergo open heart surgery in the UK.

The operation was a success but the strain proved too much for my heart and I suffered a stroke which left me partially disabled down my right side, and in order to complete this challenge I will use a cycle adapted so that I can change gears using my left hand.

In January 2009 I was taken into the Royal Sussex County Hospital where I was diagnosed with acute Diverticulitis and had to have an emergency operation. Whilst convalescing a small swelling in my neck was diagnosed as cancer of the base of my tongue.  

Cancer..... Over the next three months I was admitted to hospital three times for week long intensive chemotherapy followed by seven weeks, of thirty five sessions, of radiotherapy.
The treatment was a sucess and I only have to return to the oncology department for periodical check ups. I intend to use this cycle ride to get me back to the RSC Hospital for one of these checkups in September 2013.

I have since made a full recovery and my wife and I have rented a house in Portugal. We were watching the London 2012 Olympics on the television and I was filled with admiration for the competitors, especially the paralympians, when I came up with the idea of doing a sponsored cycle ride from Portugal back to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton to raise some money for their new oncology patient information unit.
I have had so much from the NHS over my lifetime and feel that I'd like to give something back. The information unit would have been a lifeline to grab for both me and my wife when I was diagnosed with cancer and it will give me so much pleasure to contribute towards this fantastic project.

 

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