Thanks for taking the time to visit my fundraising page.

Greg has got MSA, Carl riding to raise money for MSA charity.

I am raising money for the MSA charity because my best that I grew up with has now got it.

Carl & Greg's Life as Bullet Points.

Early Life

● Met and became friends around ages of 3-4

● Lived and brought up in Leigh Park near Havant, Portsmouth

● Went to all 3 infant, Junior and secondary schools together

● Spent all of the school holidays and weekends and even the evenings together with other kids in our street doing stuff that 60's and 70's generation kids did.

● We were both in the Cubs and scouts together and both became patrol leaders and had great times going to lots of places including LUXEMBOURG we also spent many weekends at Bordon army camp.

● Carls mum was involved in serious accident and he came to live with us for several months and although we argued we were close friends and in my view our relationship is as close today as it's always been even though we can go days and weeks with no contact.

Teen years

● We spent a lot of our teen years with the scouts and as previously said many weekends with the army at Bordon

● We went to the same school but were in different classes so you could say our relationship drifted in and out of what we had always done

● Then on leaving school we both did apprenticeships and would spend the weekends together exploring adult life with motor bikes, cars etc

● Carl's mum was heavily involved in the activity side of our life and allowed us both to experience things we probably never would have, like fishing at distant places and taking us to beaches in the summer.

● We would have occasional interaction with Carl's brother Kim but I think he saw us as 2 young lerry upstarts which he probably was not far wrong with.

● As we grew into young men our lives drifted apart and i eventually joined the army just before my 17th birthday and never came back to Leigh park.

Adult Years

● Obviously mine was military orientated along with many years in the prison service and Carl has pretty much been involved with yacht repair for as long as I can remember but some deviations into other careers along the way.

● Back in 2014 we rekindle our friendship via school reunions and it has stayed that way since to the point of Carl being best man at my wedding to my wife Debbie who again grew up with us both.

● It seems weird that when I think back of all our adventures which are way too many to write down but Carl knows each and everyone of them just like I do and it's something each of us will have in our memories when we finally meet our maker.

● Like me, Carl has a wife and family now so we are in the sensible part so to speak of our lives but we both know where we are from and what we are capable of.

The start of MSA

● Back during covid I developed what was thought to be Parkinsons Disease but after many tests I was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder called multiple system atrophy MSA-P this is a movement disorder similar to MS and MND and gives me slower movements rigid muscles and a pain in arse tremor on my right side

● The flip side of these 3 main criterias is that it affects the autonomic systems of your body and basically using the toilet to breathing is affected along with everything in between.

● I have started to have memory problems which again is part of the disease and it is this that causes me the most distress as I fear losing the memories I've always held dear with my friend. However it's something I can't control but can only hope a cure will be found and I don't lose my mind completely.

● I had a Peg feeding tube fitted in april this year and now take all my nutrition and medication through this with syringes and again this is because of the disease MSA-P

● Eventually all my autonomic functions will fail and the inevitable will happen but before this Carl is going to raise loads of money to help find a cure for this terrible disease which although I may not be around to benefit from his efforts I know there are many people he may give a longer life to, so please support him in this fund raiser and help Carl give people like me a chance to live through research and drug trials.

What Carl intends on doing shows the bond we have shared for nigh on 60 years and I know we both are asking for a lot from people but but we are both especially now we are coming into our latter years in our life that lifelong friendship we have shared will mean more than anything and if you do support him a you are also giving me the chance to live a longer life, and in turn the funds one day find a cure for the terrible disease.