Please join Bash Wright in raising vital funds to support serving men and women, veterans and families who will call on SSAFA - the Armed Forces charity for help in time of need, and Talking 2 Minds - a charity founded by Rob Paxman (former 22 SAS) in 2008 - ‘Like helping Like’.

Who & why?

The Green Mile Man - 'Bash' Wright, age 63, from Whitby, lost his legs above the knee just four 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 after already pushing himself, completely unassisted, from Lands End to John O'groats (and beyond) with no backup van, no assistance, and wild-camping along the way - completely self-sufficient, he's now ready for his next challenge.

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 a 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.

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.

Coast2Coast & End2End

In 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 beaten. In 2022 he completed the end-2-end challenge, finishing in the Saxa Vord grounds on the North Isles of Shetland.

The Caledonian Quest

Now, in 2023, Bash's latest adventure is the 'Caledonian Quest' - a challenge to prove to disabled people that anything is possible and to crack on with life. He will be going down canals, across open water, up hills, and over mountains. Starting at The Union Canal in Edinburgh, and finishing in Inverness, Bash will cover nearly 1000 unassisted miles in total, to raise money that will be split equally between two charities: SSAFA & Talking2Minds.

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