My
BRIT 2012 mile blog; sharing encounters and memories from every county of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland throughout 2012
2012
BRIT miles with a spinal cord injury; the equivalent of 310 marathon distances
in 330 days to support young people post-trauma
Thanks
to everyone for supporting me on my toughest challenge
This
month’s BRIT 2012 mile walk is November in the West Midlands
Day 292 was yet another busy day.
A 6 mile walk, visit to Chichester College, meeting with the newly appointed
Provost Marshal (Army) and Royal Military Police Reunion Dinner before
returning home.
It was a pleasure to stop by at
Chichester College before heading off to Southwick Park in Portsmouth to meet
the newly appointed Provost Marshal (Army), Brigadier Bill Warren MBE.
A little bit of history on the
appointment of the appointment of Provost Marshal (Army)
Britain's Royal Military Police claims to have a tradition of service to
the Crown and Nation longer than any regiment or corps with an antecedence
stretching back to at least 1241, when Henry II appointed one William of
Cassingham as a Military 'Sergeant of the Peace'. He and his Under-Provosts
were the ancestors of the modern Royal Military Police.
As the Provost Marshal's office gradually assumed more and more duties of a
policing nature within the Army, he was provided with State-paid troops,
referred to in Henry VIII's day as Provost Companies - the term still used
today to describe a formed body of Military Police.
The first recorded Provost Marshal in English history of whom there is a
personal record, is one Sir Henry Guldeford (or Guylford) appointed in 1511. The
Provost Marshal was responsible for maintaining discipline within the English
armies together with the King's personal security. He was also described as the
'first and greatest gaoler of the Army'.
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| Sir henry Guldeford (or Guylford) appointed as Provost Marshall in 1511 |
Britain's first standing military police force came into being in 1813,
when the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, proposed the
formation of a Staff Corps of Cavalry to be attached to the Adjutant-General.
Commanding Officers of Cavalry Regiments were then ordered to submit the names
of soldiers to serve in this new unit, detachments of which were allotted to
each division of the Peninsular Army, similar to today's Provost Companies,
which are allocated to every manoeuvre and logistic brigade.
Wellington asked for a Provost Marshal to be appointed to hang looters and
by the end of the Peninsular War the Provost Marshal controlled 24 Assistant
Provost Marshals. The Assistants were also authorised to hang offenders and
eventually each division had its own Assistant Provost Marshal. Until a uniform
was approved, members of the Staff Corps of Cavalry were identified by a red
scarf tied around the right shoulder of their original uniform, which while
some consider this to have been the origin of the famous 'Red Cap' of the Royal
Military Police and its forebears, it was certainly the most likely precursor
of the 'MP' armband (and now the Tactical Recognition Flash), which identifies
the modern Military Policeman or Policewoman.
The Provost Branch of the
Adjutant General's Corps includes 3 distinct organisations, the Royal Military
Police, the Military Provost Staff and the Military Provost Guard Service. Each
organisation has its own cap badge, history, identity and specific roles and
responsibilities. The Provost Branch
comprises almost 4300 Regular and Territorial Personnel. Members of the Provost
Branch work alongside other Army units wherever the Army is based.
To find out more on the Provost Branch, please click here; http://www.army.mod.uk/agc/provost.aspx
It was a pleasure to meet and spend time with Brigadier Bill Warren as we
haven’t seen each other for many years and I am delighted for him to be taking
over as the newly appointed Provost Marshal (Army). After our meeting, which
was also with Colonel Jeremy Green OBE, I attended the Provost Officer’s
Reunion Dinner; an annual event where serving and retired Provost Officers have
the opportunity to meet up and relax together; it also an opportunity for the
Provost Marshal (Army) to give an update on the Provost Branch and his future
vision. For many retired officers, this is also a great opportunity for them to
be reunited with the friends they served with over the decades.
For me, it was the first time for a long time that I have been to an event
like this and it was good to catch up with some close friends who have been
very supportive to my family and me. The dinner itself finished early and I was
able to slip away which gave me the opportunity to drive home and spend a
little time unwinding before a much needed night in my own bed.
I ended the day with 194 miles to go.
I was playing catch up with post,
BRIT correspondence and phone calls for the majority of the weekend and was
absolutely gutted that on Saturday morning I had succumbed to yet another
bladder infection. This one really knocked me for six and I found the pain in
my groin and stomach pretty sore, particularly when walking. I managed 4 miles
on the Saturday and was happy to have walked that far. It was a stop-start day
of walking and I went straight onto antibiotics and started to increase my
fluid intake to flush my system to rid myself of the infection.
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| Diagram of how intermittent catheterising works |
I talk to a lot of young people
about catheterising and the danger of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) as it’s
sometimes a difficult subject to talk about openly and also to understand when
you are first introduced to using them. Without the feeling of needing to go to
the loo, you have to keep a check of your fluid intake and make sure you catheterise
on a regular basis.
A brief introduction to
Intermittent Catheterisation
Intermittent catheterisation is an effective technique for people who need
catheter-based bladder management. Intermittent catheterisation is considered
the ‘gold-standard’ of care for bladder emptying, and this approach is
supported by several international and national guidelines on urinary
incontinence.
The principles of using intermittent catheterisation are based on regular
and complete emptying of the bladder to maintain a low bladder pressure and
minimal residual urine volumes, consequently securing bladder and renal health.
Correctly performed intermittent catheterisation is a safe method suitable for
long-term use, minimising the risk of urological complications (e.g. those
relating to bladder and kidney dysfunction, urinary tract infection (UTI), urethral strictures and male infertility) and improving a person’s quality
of life.
People who benefit from intermittent catheterisation include those with
neurogenic (spinal cord injury, spina bifida and multiple sclerosis) and
non-neurogenic bladder disorders (infravesical obstruction due to prostate
enlargement, urethral strictures and post-operative urinary retention).
One thing this has also prompted
me to do is to write to the company that makes my catheters and ask them if
they will agree to come up with some good website pages for young people and
some better diagrams and explanations as those on the web are far too clinical
in their explanations.
I seem to be subjected to UTIs
when I am over-tired or I push myself too hard. This may also be down to fluid
intake, poor catheterising or any number of issues. Personally, I think it is
pushing the body that bit too far and the hardest thing is to keep the walk
going as this pushes the body in further and increases the duration of time
that the infection stays with me.
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| Definitely "Grumpy" today |
I ended the Day with 190 miles to
go feeling absolutely shattered and a bit grumpy!
Day 294 was not much of an
improvement and I felt dreadful for most of the day. I paced myself as much as
I could and was determined to keep on track. I finished the day with 184 miles
to go and was really happy to have completed 6 miles. I went to catch up
locally with some friends to cheer myself up and struggled to keep up with the
conversation. I went to bed early and had an awful night, waking up at half
past two and not being able to go back to sleep. Lack of sleep and good rest is
one of my worst fears; especially knowing that I had a drive to Birmingham,
meeting with a BRIT sponsor, walk with young people and a commitment to support
a BRIT Charity Partner in the evening.
With best wishes,
Phil