The Green Mile Man!

'Bash' Wright, age 62, from Whitby, lost his legs above the knee just three years ago, after a yearlong life and death battle, three months of that time being spent in a coma. You can read some of the highlights below, but now, Bash is pushing himself, completely unassisted, from Lands End to John O'groats... and maybe a few extra miles too, just to hit the 1000 mile mark. No backup van, no assistance, and wild-camping along the way - completely self-sufficient. He may allow himself one night of 'luxury' per week, maybe on a campsite or even a B&B, to recharge his electric consumables and perhaps take a 'proper' weekly wash. But, other than that, it's 'Bash Power' all the way!

All proceeds raised from this event will go to 'Whizz Kids' - the UK's leading charity for young wheelchair users: www.whizz-kidz.org.uk


The back story...
As a young man, Bash was a fit and strong fella… cycling, rugby, weightlifting, deep-sea diving, etc. A proper bloke, he liked a beer too. Later in life, Bash didn't always look after himself properly, he was a bit reckless, and his health suffered.

A few years back, then aged 59, Bash collapsed... his pancreas was leaking; essentially, it was killing him from the inside out. He was rushed to James Cook Hospital, where he was admitted to ICU and rapidly declined into a coma… for three months. Every major organ in his body failed. His heart stopped, and a ventilator breathed for him via a tracheotomy. He developed pneumonia, a C-diff infection, leaking veins, and necrosis in his legs. The doctors, nurses, and consultants told us he would not recover; the pancreas was not healing, and his body was shutting down.

By now, Bash was reduced to an unrecognisable bag of skin and bones, with 15 different tubes and monitors coming in and out of his body; we were told to say our goodbyes, which I did, for the last time and walked away. While Bash was in a coma, he also lost his mother, my lovely Aunty Bessie from Sleights. A sad day. At Bessie's funeral, all I could think about was that it wouldn't be long before we would be back doing the same for Bash.

The next day, after Bessie's funeral, Bash's brother, Phil, rang me and said, "he's only come out of the bloody coma!" I couldn't believe it, was Bash going to live? Bash wasn't out of the woods yet; there was a long list of medical problems still to face, and his brother also had to explain to him that his mother had passed whilst he had been in the coma. The doctors also explained that his legs were poisoning him from the inside out, so he would have to lose both limbs above the knee.

Any single one of these problems is a lot to face, but Bash accepted the facts, and off they came. He spent about a year in hospital recovering, and it was a very long, slow, painful, and arduous slog. Just as Bash eventually came out of the hospital, after 12 months of recovery, Covid then struck. One thing after another was too much, and Bash did suffer from further difficulties. But today, Bash has moved on and has kept moving forward ever since. Unstoppable.

There's a big story to tell here, but Bash will do that for himself throughout the videos. Suffice to say... he went from a man who barely had the strength to get into a wheelchair to being a man pushing himself across every corner of the UK.

Last year, 2021, Bash pushed himself in his wheelchair from coast-to-coast (Morecambe to Whitby) over five days, just for his own satisfaction and self-worth - to prove he wasn't beat. Along the way, I met up with Bash at the Hopper Lane Inn, where he had a pitstop and a pint of blackcurrant juice… day 3 of 5. Whilst we were there, Bash told me the story of a WW2 pilot, Douglas Bader, who also lost his legs and was, by all accounts… a 'bloody minded' individual. Bash acknowledged that his own situation was of his making, so he had no reason to moan about his lot… and every reason 'just to get on with it'. Like the Monty Pythons Black Knight, he also insists that his loss of limbs is 'just a flesh wound'…

Bash removed the handles from the back of his chair so that nobody can help him; he does everything himself. When he wants to get up the 199 steps in Whitby, he folds up his chair, goes up one step at a time on his backside, and drags the chair up after him. This man is unstoppable… he's a bloody lunatic, but he is unstoppable. He hasn't got everything right in his life, has any of us? But I can tell you when this man puts his mind to something; it will happen. So he's not all bad, not bad at all.

Now, Bash's latest adventure is to push himself 1000 miles from the bottom of England to the top of Scotland and raise money for kids in wheelchairs along the way. There is an endearing story as to why his chosen charity is for young wheelchair users, but I'll let Bash tell you that along the way.

Good luck, Bash, and thank you to everyone who donates to this worthy cause :)