Consistently meeting young people
with medical conditions, I often think about how often we don’t see beyond the
surface of others. I am constantly educated of just how many illnesses and
disabilities are not visible, but exist and impact the lives of young people,
along with the lives of those that love and care for them. Many psychological
difficulties are also not visible and often, together, they create so much
pain, sadness and emotion. The young people that I meet on the challenge often
share their stories with me.
What they have experienced is
often heart-breaking along with their struggles to overcome trauma, build their
self-worth and move on positively with their lives. If, however, you passed by
them on the street you wouldn't think anything at all as they look like every
other young person. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery said "what is essential is
invisible to the eye." Often we see just the surface and not what lies
beneath.
While many people are familiar
with my story, I often meet people that do not know that I suffered a spinal
cord injury. I try to gently introduce the internal injuries with others so as
not to shock or put others off, but I try my utmost to talk openly so that
young people are hopefully not embarrassed to talk about issues that affect and
worry them or add additional stress. Three of these areas I know well and
focus on more are bladder, bowel and sexual function damage.
I have no problem in sharing that
since coming off the road after the halfway point of the BRIT 2012 mile walk in
Manchester I’ve been struggling physically. Once again I found myself with a
bladder infection http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Urinary-tract-infection-adults/Pages/Introduction.aspx
I think I get so much energy from being out on the challenge, meeting young
people and supporters that it really does enthuse and keep me going.
Unfortunately, when I get home and the adrenalin goes, I find myself exhausted
and drained. I think my immune system weakens slightly and my body tells me
this with infections. Last week was one of the worst for a long time. I
also suffered a bout of conjunctivitis which thankfully cleared up quickly, but
it’s the bladder infections that absolutely knock me for six and don’t just
affect the bladder, energy and strength, but also general mood which can hit
lows and make me a lot more vulnerable psychologically.
I continued to walk though. From
Day 152 through to Day 164 I have averaged 6 miles each day and tried to keep
the body going and pulling on reserves and looking after myself to ensure I
stay on track and don’t fall behind on my miles.
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| BRIT Strategy Meeting at Start Judge Gill (Miguel, Martin, Darren and James) |
It has been a busy period and as
well as seeing the Medical Surgery to go on a course of antibiotics, I’ve been
playing catch up in West Sussex with BRIT as a Charity and also focus on our
strategy for the next six months. On Friday, 30th June, I
walked early in the morning and then went up to London to meet BRIT Trustee
Darren Whittingham, BRIT Advisor James Kydd, Martin who runs our BRIT Website
& Map and Miguel from Luxon who all met up to discuss the Branding, Social
Media and Website strategies. It was a positive meeting and I’m sincerely
grateful to everyone for their support to make things happen for BRIT and gift
their time and resources.
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| With my friends from Norton Motorcycles who have been great supporters of BRIT and I |
Then it was back to West Sussex
for The Festival of Speed at Goodwood. Lord March had invited me up on the Sunday
as a guest which maintains a relationship between Goodwood and I as it remains
my aspiration to work closely with the Goodwood Estate when we build the BRIT Centre.
BRIT Advisor, Stuart Garner, from Norton Motorcycles came to stay with me and
it was great to have the opportunity to catch up with Stuart and use him as a
sounding board for some of the ideas for the future BRIT strategy. It was also
great to catch up with BRIT Mentor, Ben Fogle, and have a good heart to heart
about lots of feelings and thoughts. Both Stuart and Ben have become great
friends and understand how difficult the challenge is and that I am often away
from home and even more often unavailable to attend events. Meeting up is rare
and it’s always great to be able to see them.
Day 163 of the Challenge saw me
back at Chichester College. I cannot thank Chichester College, and especially
Lisa Humphries, enough for their support. They have been with me on this
challenge since the start and today, the students, staff and faculty again
joined me for a walk to get in my miles, before I had a planning meeting with
Lisa to discuss the many ways in which Chichester College can help BRIT.
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| Danny Pike BBC Radio Sussex |
Danny Pike from BBC Radio Sussex
came out to join me on the walk. Danny was interviewing me when we were joined
by a young woman, Polly, and her mother Alison. Polly shared her struggles with
me. Sadly, due to a medical condition, Polly can no longer dance, which was her
passion. She planned to study dance in college, but cannot. I was struck, and I
think Danny was as well, by Polly’s grace and honesty about what she is going
through. I’m trying to get the interview up on my website so you can hear it.
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| With Polly in Chichester on Day 162 of my BRIT 2012 mile walk |
While Polly and her mum came out
to see me, hoping for some inspiration, it is actually the other way around.
When I meet young people like Polly, who are struggling to overcome and have
faced such difficulties, I am completely humbled by their strength and courage.
It is never easy to be the one that is different and people, through ignorance,
can often be quite cruel. My sincere thanks to Polly for coming along to the
challenge and sharing her story.
The 164th day of the
BRIT 2012 mile walk saw me packing the BRIT gifted Land Rover for another trip
to the North. Unfortunately, I have not had much down time and had started to
feel unwell again. No surprise that I’ve got another bladder infection. I am
starting to wonder if it is the same one that just keeps cycling back!
Day 164 saw me on the road early
and driving up from West Sussex to visit the Doncaster College for the Deaf http://www.deaf-trust.co.uk/college
I received such a warm and kind welcome from the students and staff. I spent a
great time with the students at the College.
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| With some of the young people from Doncaster College for the Deaf who walked with me on Day 164 of the BRIT 2012 mile walk |
All too quickly it was over and I
was back in the Land Rover heading to my hotel, The Wentbridge House, www.wentbridgehouse.co.uk which is
beautifully situated and the Hotel and Staff very kindly offered to gift my accommodation.
I ended my day by logging into my computer and catching up on emails!
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| Wentbridge House Hotel |
I finished the day with 934 miles
to go.
Best wishes,
Phil