After shielding for the last year, John and I thought we would set ourselves a challenge to celebrate coming out of hibernation!

I will be completing a 200km trek across the Namibian Desert in October.  In addition, John and I will both be doing a 1000km challenge in the lead up to the trek.  I will be walking and John  will be using wheelchairs provided by Help for Heroes and an adapted static bike and hand bike gifted by a good army friend in memory of his late wife, Gwen.  

In 2008 our lives were turned upside down when my partner, John, was diagnosed with a progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis.  He had been a soldier since the age of 18 and lived an active life, so his diagnosis came as a huge blow.

Since then, Help for Heroes has been a valuable support, providing emotional and practical support; respite; and opportunities that have allowed us both to remain as active as possible, despite John's disability.  With an illness such as John's it would have been so easy for him to succumb to the limitations of his increasingly debilitating disease but with his determined mindset he battles on.

John's disease has now progressed as such that he can no longer walk and is dependant on the care of others.  However, he refuses to give in to the disease and tries to overcome a daily struggle that most of us would not be able to comprehend, in order to maintain an active life for us both.  It is this grit and determination that has inspired me to challenge myself and take part in the trek.  

At a distance of 200km in desert conditions, the journey will not be an easy feat but it is one that I will embrace to show my appreciation of the support given by Help for Heroes.  Moreover, I want to acknowledge the bravery, strength and determination that John demonstrates each day.  The challenges that I will face during the trek will only represent a fraction of those experienced by our injured, wounded and sick service men and women face every day.

With your help, I would like to show my appreciation for the invaluable support that John and I have received from Help for Heroes but also to make a small contribution towards their ongoing efforts in making our injured troops and their family's lives a little easier.

Every day, men and women have to leave their career in the Armed Forces as a result of physical or psychological wounds. Your fundraising helps them recover and get on with their lives. So far we've supported more than 25,000 people and won’t stop until every veteran gets the support they deserve.