Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

I have crazily decided to cycle the Etape Caledonia, which is an 81 mile cycle round the hills of Perthshire. I am also walking a 26 mile kilt-walk from Hampden to Loch Lomond along with the Avenues Veterinary Centre crew. The reason for this is that I want to raise funds for a very worthwhile charity that are not as well-known as others.  Your Choice is a Scottish charity established in 2001 to improve health and quality of life for adults with long term physical disabilities, including acquired brain injury and sensory impairment. Its core aim is to maximise independence and function in all aspects of daily life. As a ‘one-stop shop’ it provides information, advice, support, and help with accessing therapies. Its staff all have longstanding experience of living with a severe disability, detailed knowledge of the wide range of support available, and of barriers to accessing this.

 

This is a charity very close to my heart as many of you will know.  This is due to my boyfriend Ronnie Walker suffering a brain haemorrhage secondary to an arterial-venous malformation (AVM) in 2005.  Ronnie was born with this malformation of blood vessels and was completely unaware of this.  Ronnie was extremely lucky to survive this brain haemorrhage but this was only the start of his journey.

 

Due to the great care and maybe a small part of fate at the hospital on the night Ronnie was admitted, Ronnie made it through the night of the surgery.  When Ronnie woke up after the surgery he found that he was unable to speak, walk or do any of the things that we take for granted every day.  Everyone that knows us well remembers the difficulty that Ronnie faced every day with his new life and having to relearn these new skills on a daily basis.  As if this wasn’t enough he had to get stereotactic radiotherapy to help shrink his blood vessels as his AVM was too deep within his brain to operate on again.  He had to live a few years with the uncertainty of possible reoccurrence of a brain haemorrhage before getting the reassurance that the stereotactic radiotherapy had worked in sealing off the blood vessels.  The scaring from this left Ronnie with partial nocturnal seizures.  

 

Most people would have given up but not Ronnie. He began with his struggle through a 3 and a half month period at the PDR unit at the southern general hospital to help in rehabilitation.  He left here with the ability to walk and talk again due to his care and sheer determination and diligently receiving all the treatment he needed.  After this 3 and a half month stay Ronnie was glad to be back home and we were glad to have him there!  Then the other struggles of real life hit home and we were at a loss of how to cope.  This is when at one of Ronnie’s 100 hospital visits I saw a number that helped people with brain injury.  I thought I may as well try phoning and see what happens.  This is when the wonderful charity then called DIGG and now changed to Your Choice Rehabilitation Enablement got involved in our lives.  Dr Wormsley started this amazing charity to help people struggling to adapt to their disabilities and adapt and flourish in their new life’s and face the new obstacles that surface every day.  All staff were amazing to talk to, with an exceptional mention given to a lady called Eva kocovska.  This is one busy lady, yet she went out of her way to help myself and Ronnie.  She gave up her own time to help us go to appointments so that we had the support we lacked and needed at this time.  There are no words that describe the help that Eva and the rest of the team gave to us.  They helped Ronnie find the confidence to get back into woodwork and aided in his return to his college course in furniture design and making.  I don’t know where we would be now if we had not got the amazing support from your choice rehabilitation and enablement.

 

We are now in a much better place thanks to the charity and especially to all the support from family and close friends and Ronnie’s sheer determination and amazement.  We now have a new addition to the family called Glen, which if I think back, never thought would be possible.  This is why I would like you all to dig deep and sponsor me to raise funds for this worthy charity.  When getting in touch with the charity to inform them of myself induced torture on a bike, I was sad to find out that they have less funding than before and are only in the office 2 mornings a week.  So please help raise awareness and money for this charity that truly deserves the recognition.

Thank you