Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

On 29^th October 2018, our friend Will Ross had a devastating and life changing accident, which left him permanently paralysed from the chest down.

It was a sunny and clear day on Jersey, Will happily agreed to help trim some trees and cut branches in his parent's garden. Wearing all the required protective gear and having all the safety precautions in place, no one could have foreseen the freak accident that was to occur. Whilst cutting down a tree, it changed direction as it fell and crushed Will as it hit the ground. He was instantly paralysed and taken to hospital where it was discovered that he had suffered a severe spinal cord injury as well as multiple breaks down his spine, ribs and shoulder blade.

Will was then transferred by air ambulance to Taunton hospital where he received 6 hours of emergency surgery to stabilize and fuse his spine with metal rods. From there, a few weeks later, Will moved to Salisbury hospital for rehabilitation.

Of course, all of his family and friends were in complete shock, but we knew we had to do something to help raise funds for Will, his wife Emma and their young daughter Florence, in order to help them prepare for the long and emotional road that lay ahead, not least the challenges of finding a new family home suitable for complete wheelchair access.

We aim to raise funds not only to help Emma and Will adjust, but to also raise awareness for a special charity 'Inspire Foundation', which is a spinal cord research foundation. They aim to raise funds for research to explore practical solutions to everyday problems experienced by people with spinal cord injuries. This charity is recommended on the Salisbury Spinal Treatment Centre website, plus by Will and Emma themselves. Please see below the charity link for more information and how charitable donations are used. 

https://www.inspire-foundation.org.uk/

To raise as much money as possible, on 26^th August 2019, a group of Will’s friends; Joe Burkmar, Mike Coe, James Davies, Tim Hannibal, Rew Leonard, Dave Perry, Lewis Whitehouse and Nick Townend - none of us would describe ourselves as "Cycle enthusiasts", will embark on a 600 mile bike ride from Poole to Jersey 'the long way round'. This ride will take us from Poole in Dorset, to Folkestone in Kent, across the
Channel (sadly not possible to cycle this part) and on to St-Malo in France. Here, we will cross to Jersey where we'll finish with a lap of the island supported by all of Will’s family, friends and local cyclists, including hopefully Will himself on a hand bike. This feat will take 6 days, and see us cycle an average 115 miles a day for the first 5 days, followed by a 30-ish mile lap of Jersey on the final 6^th day.

Please use the below link to access our blog, which will keep you up to date with all our training rides, sponsorship events (time permitting – there are children, new babies, and weddings to also contend with) and saddle sores along the way, on our countdown to the BIG ride itself.

https://pooletojerseythelo.wixsite.com/bikeride

Your support would mean the world to Will and Emma, their family and friends, the charity involved, and of course, US … 'The Long Way Round' team. Our sole purpose for this event is to raise awareness and raise funds for a charity which specialises in Spinal Cord Injuries (including rehabilitation help), and at the very least help in some way with the financial support that will be needed by Will and Emma to make their lives more
wheelchair friendly.

Please note, the money raised on this page will go directly to Inspire Foundation charity. A separate Just Giving 'Crowdfunding' page has been created in order for donations to be sent directly to Will and Emma.

A HUGE thank you in advance!!