Wednesday 31 July 2013

Day 20 - Washout !

Set off at the crack of dawn today - I figured that the earlier I start walking the more time I have before my brain wakes up and realises what I'm doing !!

Wish i hadn't, it finally arrived - my first day of constant rain !! 


Now being an ardent rambler with over 2 weeks of extensive experience ;), you'd think i would have mastered the basics by now. 

There are certain must-haves for walking in the rain:
• Waterproof boots
• Spare (dry) socks
• Waterproof coat
• Good sense of humour 

Guess how many of the four I didn't have ! - yep all of them!!!

My good lady had transported my baggage to Cardigan yesterday to save me the effort today. 

In that elusive rucksack of mine were all my spare socks/clothes! 

My 'waterproof' boots - were in fact not very waterproof at all! Within an hour my  feet were completely drenched. 

The snazzy MNDA umbrella I had was of no use either on the top of the Aberporth/Mwnt cliff tops !! 

As for the sense of humour, after walking 6/7 miles sodden through - that soon dwindles too!! 

Not even my recent iTunes purchase of "Guns & Roses' Appetite for Destruction" could paint a smile on me ;) Paradise City - this was not !!

In stark contrast to yesterday, the beaches of Llangranog, Penbryn & Tresaith were all completely deserted!
That's all the pics you're getting today mate - my phone was taking cover from the elements too!!

All I had on me was a spare tshirt and yesterday's underwear ! They came in handy! Even my Haribo (present from children yesterday!) were in my rucksack!

I eventually rocked up to Cardigan early afternoon, after having put on a bit of a trot over the aptly named Mwnt! 

God knows what the local residents thought! I, myself, was ashamed ;) literally soaked through, carrying an umbrella and carrier bag - I must've resembled a vagabond (although in truth, the local vagabond probably smelt better!!).

A welcomed surprise then though, as an old school friend, Rhian, and her family were in the area and we met up. Luckily for them, by this point I had indeed showered !!
(Thankyou for the extremely tasty welsh cakes !! And one of my 5-a-day (yep another cider!)). Look forward to catching up again with you in Pembroke !

A bonus - tonight, I've got sky TV ! Gonna try and hunt down a proper pub meal before spending the evening praying for the sun to reappear tomorrow.

Not a bonus - tomorrow I wear the same drenched clothes as I wore today ! 

We've reached the £6k mark on JustGiving and that's still without some known contributions - we'll keep climbing !!!

Right mate, catch up with you tomorrow - unless someone takes pity on me along the route tomorrow and escorts me to a soup-kitchen !!

PS - I think this weekend is the nuns outfit or dress forfeit ! Oh what joy.

Readers, please catch up with Tracy's comments about the 'I am breathing' film on Day 18's blog

Tuesday 30 July 2013

Day 19 - A restful boost !

Was great to wake up today knowing I didn't have any walking to do !

I awoke to seagulls and the waves were literally 50 yards away - a tremendous inn this Pentre Arms is, would definitely recommend to all. 

Then my beautiful family arrived. 
Other than an initial rain shower, the day stayed bright and the children spent practically all of it on the beach!


Today has been a huge lift for me. Seeing these guys has made me realise even more about the importance of what I'm doing.
Today has reemphasised the importance of having people around you who care for you.

I can be an extremely selfish 'so and so' at times, I guess we all can. I don't and most other people don't, realise how important families truly are. 

Families are life, and unfortunately MND tries to rip that family ethic apart. 

Well, it's spectacularly failed to rip your sense of family spirit up mate !

Watching Tracy, Kieran and Scarlett as they're around you only goes to prove that. Your love for them has never been questioned and will remain eternal.

Don't want to simply fill this blog with sentimental fluffiness, I just want people to stop and think for a minute and put themselves in your shoes. 
My message to the readers would be this "If you love your children, your spouse, your family - tell them, show them more often than you do - when you're able to. 

Not being physically able to do this must be the hardest thing. 

Of course, your family Gar do know how much you care for them and how grateful you are for them being there - but how many of the rest us really know that for sure?

Sorry mate, got carried away there.

So, unfortunately I had to say goodbye to them again, but as I said, it's been a great day and I loved watching them fooling around on the sand - makes me want to finish this thing ASAP and get back home!

That's it for rest days - I think the hard work starts here now! A little under 3 weeks to go and I'm even more confident  that we can spread even more awareness and raise even more funds! I'm 120% into this fight, ill probably continue to moan (a little!) and have hard days but it won't stop me. 


Next stop - Cardigan !

A reminder to all why we're doing this:

Lets exterminate this monster !!

Spread the word please guys:-

www.walk4mnd.com

If anyone knows anyone in the media, any contact etc - lets get into them !!!

Monday 29 July 2013

Day 18 - Downpours but Upbeat !

Hi mate.

An early start today! Awoke to the sound of thunder and rain !! Absolutely great stuff - not. So that was me like a bear with a sore head already!!

For the first 45 mins my entire walk from Aberaeron towards Newquay was dominated with me getting a soaking !! - stop laughing!

Getting wet was fine (I had been blessed with the weather up to now!) but not realising my backpack was also getting a soaking wasn't !! - obviously forgot to apply the rain cover! I'm sure the kegs I'm wearing now are still slightly damp :)

After miles of cussing the heavens for the downpour they inflicted on me, the big man must've been listening !! Sunshine reappeared !

I eventually got to Newquay, where I quickly popped into a cafe to ditch my drenched clothing - didn't think they'd be worth much on EBay ;)


I then met up with Rachel, her husband Will and their lovely daughters. Rachel lost her dad to MND and does a lot of important fundraising in the Cardiff area herself. 
Rachel had drawn the short straw and accompanied me from Newquay to Cwm Tudy. 
Despite an early wrong turn down to a fish factory and a few complete soakings on the way, we made excellent progress and it was good to share our stories etc (hope I didn't bore you too much Rach!).


In fact they left me at the right time I think, because 5 mins later I was climbing yet another beast of a mountain (familiar theme running through these blogs mate !!)

In fact - you need to let me know if these blogs are starting to bore you ? There's only so many coastal images you can look at, right ???


As the above pic shows, in between showers, the views were fantastic again.
Today was a lot easier, terrain-wise and in terms of mileage than yesterday. 

I could've done without participating in a wet t-shirt competition but hey ho it was only temporary ;) - luckily for you I have no photos of that !

I came around the final mountain and Llangranog was a welcome site indeed !


My digs for the night - Pentre Arms, is right on the beach and they serve a quality lasagne & chips. Plus to my disgust they also serve cider ;) 

But after the last week, I'm completely bushed, so I've hit the sack early in anticipation for my welcomed rest day tomorrow (the last one I have until Aug 18th!! now).
And tomorrow I get to see my wonderful family and I cannot wait !

We've collected over £80 from the collection box over last few days !! 
And a friend of mine, David McNally, (cheers mate!) raised £200 auctioning Ashes tickets off!

Another friend sent me this apt quote this morning:- 
"It is only in sorrow bad weather masters us; in joy we face the storm and defy it"

Despite my Karl Pilkington impressions mate (an idiot abroad), I am enjoying myself - not because I get to drink the odd pint of apples in peace, but because I know for a fact that this is now working ! Awareness continues to spread. We even had a mention on BridgeFM today apparently!! Still waiting for Derek the Weatherman to give me a ring though :)

Take pride in the person you are Gar. Your immovable strength is inspiring people. 


Sunday 28 July 2013

Day 17 - Halfway Home !!

Hi mate - yep I'm halfway home !! 17 days done. 18 to go ;)

After a surprisingly great nights sleep, (I even slept through the horrendous snoring from Mr Floyd!), we set out on what we had hoped was a little easier than yesterday - it wasn't !!!

What has now become customary - a nice little hill to climb first off:


A few spots of rain and I was thinking the worst (and this was only 10mins into the start!). Luckily the rain held off for a while but it doesn't make the incline any easier.
You need a giggle - just picture us getting up that, literally on hand & knees !

What was different today was the fact we were walking along the coast !!! Sea breeze a welcome visitor.

The Ceredigion path was fairly well signposted but we did stumble across he odd issue !
(that's a sign post ! On the floor!)

The scenery was a rare treat after the 2 days previous walks!


As you can see the rain stayed away for most of the day in the end, which was a blessing, although the ground was still somewhat slippery as both me and Floyd found to our detriment - both sent flying on our backsides! In Floyd's case unfortunately he took a few tumbles and is now nursing a swollen ankle (sorry mate - I did say i'd carry my bag :)

But we weren't as bad as his little fella:
(Sun, obviously too much for some !)

After about 11 miles we 'stumbled' across a caravan park - and hence a caravan park bar ! This turned our to be a lucrative move as our collection tin caught the eye of the tourists !!

We relaxed for a while, knowing the journey was half done. 


A few new blisters for me to Compeed up and fresh socks and away we went again! 
This is where we met Clive !!


Yep, he was as eccentric as he looks !!!
In truth though this local guy was a genius! 
He walked with us for a while before volunteering to run (literally run) ahead with our collection tin and round up support ! And by golly he did!

He must've reached Aberareon about 45 mins before us and between the time he left us and when we got there - complete strangers were coming up to us, wishing us well and saying they had kindly dropped money into the tin ! 


Clive - thank you mate. 

It was here we also met up with Nigel, tonight's host. Small world as Nige used to live in Bridgend! A Bryntirion lad! 
Him, his wife and his wonderful daughter Gabby welcomed me into their home and fed me extremely well!
(By this point Floyd has returned home to Hereford to nurse his aches & pains!)

So another really tough days walking, but all made completely worth it to see members of the public willingly donate.

(I did smile a little in this one !!)

Still gutted I wasn't videoing the walk when he tumbled !!!!! Would've made awesome You've Been Framed footage.

In all seriousness Floyd, don't think I would've got through the last 2 days without losing my mind, if you hadn't been there - great company, we've had a good laugh in some very testing conditions. Cheers mate, hope ankle heals quickly!

Halfway now Gar, I'm feeling good that we've come this far - it's all downhill (I wish!!) from here mate. I hope you've had a better few days.

PS - can you tell Kirsten to stop worrying about me - the pubs of Ceredigion are not going to run dry of cider anytime soon ;)

Saturday 27 July 2013

Day 16 - Climb Every Mountain (and then climb another)

OMG - for tonight's blog, it will be very difficult not to moan ;) 
Today is officially the toughest walk I've done!! 

Machynlleth to Aberystwyth along the Wales Coastal Path. 
Mmmmmmm lets see - Wales Coastal Path - did I see the coast for most of today's 9 hour trek ? NO
Did I even see a path for most of today's 9 hour trek - NO not really !! But I was in Wales, so at least they got that bit right !!

I was joined this morning by our old friend Floyd, who and I quote, said "this walk will be a piece of **** mate". This is him, barely an hour after we reached our accommodation:-

In fact I can hear him snoring next door now, as I write this ! In fairness to Floyd he valiantly 'volunteered' (didn't read the small print !) to carry the rucksack for majority of today's hike. 

We left Mach at approx 8am and set off on our 'piece of cake' journey ;)

Literally half hour later, I was dripping in sweat and climbing a Ben-Nevis esque incline (AGAIN). And remember I wasn't even carrying anything !!

The choice to don hair product this morning totally backfired - spent 9 hours fighting flies (and losing).

Much as yesterday really, the terrain was ridiculous and if it wasn't for a chance meeting with a local farmer we'd probably still be out there now - wherever 'there' is.


Despite the unexpected inclines again and lack of sea breeze it was good to have the company and someone to share banter with again. You know how crazy this lad was mate !!

(That's how far away from coast we were!)

5 hours later we arrived in Borth, where we met Rich, Lisa and Amy-Grace.
The Evans family have truly been great friends of yours and today they had come up to support and walk the last half of the day and also, gratefully, take the baggage!!

I think the disappointment of not having started at 8am with us was etched all over Richs' face ;) When he saw us he must have been mightily relieved !!

I was told when we got to Borth, that we would in fact be walking along the coast (novelty!). We were, just had to walk up the equivalent of 125 flights of stairs to get round it!!!!!!!

We got to see some strange creatures up the hilltops of Aber too:-


Needless to say, the sight of Aber as we came over Constitutional Hill was extremely welcomed !


We'd made it ! 9 hours, 22 miles, countless mountains, never ending wading through bracken, plenty of wasp duels, a cheeky pint (obv) and Day 16 was smashed!


(Seriously, Justin - smile mun !!!!)

Tomorrow, Floyd rejoins me to walk to Aberaeron - IN THE RAIN !!!!
Yep after 2 glorious weeks of sunshine (thankyou North Wales!), somebody has decided to throw some rain at me - because apparently I'm finding this too easy.............

Take care mate, I'm sure tomorrow will be an interesting day !

PS - I ain't sleeping tonight, his snoring is horrendous ! 
(Bet you'd never thought you'd hear of Floyd turning down a night out in exchange for an early night !!)

I would also like to thank Winford Davies for putting us up and feeding us tonight - v much appreciated Sir.

Friday 26 July 2013

Day 15 - Into Powys we cross !


Hi Gar. 
I'm writing this blog early tonight before I flake out completely. Probably the hardest day so far to be honest. The mileage wasn't that extensive but the route was an absolute pee take !!

The first couple of miles to AberDovey was coastal and with blue skies out to greet me again, it was a pleasant start to the day.


The harbour master at Aber offered me a free boat ride across the river - you will not believe how tempting that was. As i politely turned him down, he pointed out my next few miles with a wicked chuckle - he knew what was coming - i certainly didn't. Then that's where it all went pear-shaped!! 

Somebody tell me where the bl00dy coast is here :-


I should have brought my mountain yak with me !!!!!  For about 2 hours I trawled over the mountains. 

The official advert for this part of the "Coastal Path" describes it as:- 
Here the path takes an inland detour along the River Dovey to the nearest crossing point at Machynlleth. The spectacular mountain scenery makes an interesting contrast to the coast!!

Here's my own description:-
"Here some cruel ******** decided to send poor souls up to the top of various mountains, unnecessarily in the blazing heat! Nearest crossing point ????? Somebody just build a little path adjacent to the main road please !!!!!
There was nothing spectacular about treading through yet more heaps of cow/sheep dung and trawling through what seemed like tropical rain forests at times ! But hey - it was an interesting contrast ;)"

If there was one sign that summed me up today it would be this :-
Broken lol!
You know me Gar, I'm not one to moan (he says coughing).

Some sadistic fella decided to whack up a trim trail at the bottom of the mountains too - just in case I fancied a pole climb or sit-up session !!!:


All that said I got to Machynlleth fairly early which was nice, had a chance to grab some refreshments etc

New fact of the day: Machynlleth was best known for being the seat of Owain Glyndwr's Welsh parliament in 1400s !

Unfortunately, obviously more recently its been in the news for the wrong reasons and the poignant sense of community spirit over the April Jones case was still evident.

I've left North Wales now mate, we've crossed into mid-Wales and I can smell home from here (although in truth, all I can smell are my 4-day old socks!!)

I'd like to say this to all my North Walian friends:-

Hoffwn i ddiolch pob un o'm ffrindiau newydd yng Ngogledd Cymru am eu croeso rhagorol a chymorth bendigedig. Bydda i'n dod nôl yn fuan yn bendant, ond ddim wrth gerdded! 


Tomorrow, I'm being joined by some familiar faces which will be great! Plus I get to offload half my baggage, which somewhat limits my moaning in future blogs ;)

And now for your ass-kicking ! 

My spies tell me you're feeling down etc (naturally). The heat isn't making you any more comfortable and your stomach is playing games again. Screw all that mate !!
Keep that fighting spirit, which remains, inside you. You are a warrior and have fought this battle for nearly 3 years now - don't let it think its winning! 
Ill jump on a train back to Bridgend tonight and personally kick your ass if I have to, but I'm sure Tracy is doing plenty of that. 
I've said it before, you're the bravest person I will ever get to meet. Keep believing, keep smiling and know you're loved.

I now have tears in my eyes!! 
DO NOT GIVE UP ON THIS !

"It's not the strength of the body that counts but the strength of the spirit" - J.R.R Tolkien

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Day 14 - Fortnight Completed !

Was woken by the 6am train to Aberystwyth, it was so loud I thought it was coming through the window !!!! (If it had, I would've jumped on it !!)

It had rained through the night and I must have been up till 3am doing whatever the opposite of a raindance is ! (sun dance?) but again bright blue skies were waiting for me as I rose.
Plus what is turning into a tradition I had a nice little incline to walk up first off! 

(Calling this a coastal path has to be false advertising!!)

Another couple of miles over farm land ensued, avoiding all cow-like animals ;) What I couldn't avoid though was the sheep poo (for the younger blog viewers !) - it was everywhere mate - thought I was walking across the pitch at Anfield to be honest (chuckle chuckle!)

In desperation of getting out of the fields as quickly as possibly I contemplated wheelie-ing down the mountain on this bad boy:-
(One wheel better than none !)

Having cleared the fields and dropped back down along the coast, the breeze was welcomed and the path became less demanding. Even Headley got to enjoy the fresh air:-

Got into Tywyn, resisted the temptation to sign up for this little test too:-

Found somewhere to eat (and yep obviously drink!), before crashing out at accommodation - which by way is well freaky! Its run by a bunch of delinquent pensioners, the decor matches that of my grandmas home from the 70s and my blooming freeview TV doesn't work !!!! (And I've had to pay to lie here looking at this obscene decor !!!!)



But that's it - 2 weeks completed !
(I'm struggling to even bust out a smile here!)

Spookily, the 2 weeks have flown by. 
It's been a 'journey', that's for sure.

I've endured a heatwave, had a few blisters, ripped one blister off, paid A&E a quick visit, been bitten alive by horseflies, got lost (on numerous occasions), spotted dolphins and seals (and a dead crab), been humiliated on stage by a Drag Queen, been attacked by a bull(cow?), lost a flag and met loads of new friends for life ! 
More to the point we've raised almost £6.5k already ! Awareness has gone viral, and blog viewing figures have increased (by 5!)

Can't wait to see how the remaining 3 weeks pans out...........

Half way through my walk today, Tracy posted up the below picture of you, Kieran and Scarlett - what a fabulous photo it is mate - Scarlett has your cheekiness for sure :) 

And your t-shirts describes you to a tee!!

Day 13 - 3rd done !

Woke up this morning not wanting to open curtains for fear of seeing rain ! I didn't fancy getting soaked today (I think you need to be in a certain mood to get a drenching - and today I was not in that mood!!)
Luckily it was dry !! 
Another very comfortable nights sleep meant I had no excuses today whatsoever. 

Day 13 has arrived so quickly, looking back at the photos I've taken etc everything seems so long ago ! That's fatigue kicking in probably!

So my walking partner for today was Mike Silcock (used to play rugby with Fran Cotton & Bill Beaumont this guy !!)


The little fella in yellow is "Headley" - my new adopted friend (courtesy of the Silcocks!) Watch out for Headley in future blogs !!

Now is a great time to thank Mike, Deb and Daisy for their wonderful hospitality last night ! Anybody wishing to holiday up here need to look theses guys up - they have a fabulous holiday home !

So, having again been spoilt by my hosts, me and Mike started our trek to Llwyngwril. 
(Unconfirmed!!) but I think today, myself and Mike were the first people to walk across the (yet to be completed) new coastal path at Penrhyn point, Fairbourne. 


We had a great walk to our destination today and even managed to collect a few donations enroute (thanks to Mikes' gentle persuartion) 

We reached Llwyngwril, thanks to some homemade 'Welsh Succulent Ham' sandwiches !!!


We got stopped by a few people on the way today and they asked about my motivation behind my walk. 

Gar, it was a privilege to tell complete strangers about how great a bloke you are ! It's easy for me to describe you, you're a guy who has always been a good friend to many people, a great father, and a fantastic husband. I'm seriously filled with pride to call you a friend. 

Everyone I've spoke to you about you asks me how you are - stupid question really ! 
But I tell them how it is - you're still fighting and more importantly you're still high in spirits. You epitomise everything there is to know about strength and belief mate. I'm probably getting a little soft now and that's not my intention - just want you to know how proud I, and everyone else, is of you. 

I spoke to Mrs H-D earlier and she said i  sounded wrecked - in truth I probably am - but I've done 13 days now and am more motivated than ever mate. 

You're my motivation and I won't stop. And all your supporters will not stop either - we are, and always will be 110% behind you. 

PS : I would like to thank Cath & Lee for hosting me this evening. The village of Fairbourne has been magnificent in welcoming me (thanks to Mike & Caths' endeavours). 



Monday 22 July 2013

Day 12 - Danglers & Detours

Latest news  - Royal Baby blah blah blah - they're not calling it Justin so who cares.

In other news :-
• Still no sightings of Flag number 1 :(
• I still can't read maps
• I haven't had a Starbucks for 12 days!
• Have avoided run-ins with farm animals for at least 48 hours now.........
• We are still kicking MND butt !

Day 12 - Harlech to Barmouth

Thanks to my chauffeur (thanks Paula), I got back to my start point nice and early and set off for Barmouth. A tasking start saw me take in a couple of miles of beach and then up & over Harlech cliff !


Bag felt heavier today for some reason, I think my back is begging me not to carry it anymore ;)

Had a real battle with the coastal path today too.
Poor signage, uneven terrain, forced diversions and double backs all contributed to a very frustrating ramble !!
I even had to contend with a bloody sewage swamp! 

Eventually got to Llanbedr where my backs' prayers were answered ! Daisy (yep from Day 1 !) had kindly offered to pick it up on her way to Mike (her dad) and Debbie's place - my hotel for the evening. And trust me, my walk today would've probably taken an extra hr or 2 had I not offloaded it !!

Having lightened the load I continued on my journey. 

I found something to do whilst taking a break ;)

As I casually continued along the beach at Morfa, I came across some very  bizarre sights indeed - I was in fact strolling through a nudist colony !!!
(obviously didn't take any photos at this point ! so use you're imagination)

They (the danglers !) we're coming from all angles - I daren't look at anyone ;) I'm just glad I hadn't eaten a full breakfast !

And sorry mate, no I didn't embarrass myself and air my crown jewels too ! Too many seagulls hovering above !!!

So, having recovered from the horror show I had just found myself walking through, I eventually reached Barmouth promenade !!


Oh - forgot to say ! They don't feed their horses very well up here mate :-

I was met by Daisy (hope you're blister is ok ??) and Mike who took us back to their home village, where unbeknown to me, the locals had been busy collecting donations all day !!! Fantastic!


We then, together with Debbie shared a lovely meal and a few cheeky ciders ;). In fact I got really spoilt because I was even able to have rugby conversations with Mr Silcock !!!

Today's been a tough one but its history now, Day 13 beckons. One third of challenge completed !!!

Please don't get down mate, keep your spirits lifted, hundreds of good people behind you. 

Ill speak to you tomorrow.
(Ill introduce you to Headley tomorrow too)

“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” ― Albert Camus


Sunday 21 July 2013

Their Story

Thought I would publish Tracy's previous comments in its own blog post for all to read. It gives their account of how this awful disease has effected them:-

As you started all of this to raise awareness I thought I would expand on our experiences to give people a bit of an insight into what living with MND entails. 

Not long before Gareth was diagnosed our family unit was completed and blessed with the arrival of Scarlett in 2009. We were a very active family, Gareth played football, worked hard and every weekend we went out to places as a family enjoying life. Like most people we were grateful that awful things like terminal illnesses were stories from others, we were all fit and healthy. Gareth hardly ever even caught a cold! 

We were a young, very happy family and we thought we had our whole lives together to bring up our children and enjoy our later years together. Having both been divorced and through our share of troubles as individuals, we can both honestly say we had each found our soul mate. 

July 2010 - I'll never forget it because we were out for my 40th birthday and Gareth started slurring his words. Justin - don't know if you remember we were all taking the mickey because Gareth had only had 2 pints!! Mind you he's always been a lightweight.......

Me nagging him to go to the doctor and several very painful tests later, in October 2010 we were given the awful news that he had MND. We suspected before the appointment but were still hopeful that he had had a stroke...imagine that! That's because being diagnosed with MND is one of the worst things you can hear, mainly because no one can give you any hope as there is no cure or effective treatment. 

The best piece of advice we were given at that time by an MND nurse (which I will never forget) is do everything you want to do in life in the next 12 months. 

And that's what we did....travelling around the globe every other month, creating memories for our children and us and doing as much as we could possibly fit in. Looking back I am so glad that we did.

I can't begin to describe everything that has happened to us since then, it would create a book! There's the physical deterioration side that happened much quicker and more aggressively than we could ever have imagined. Within a year Gareth was in a wheelchair, forward another year and he could only move his neck and head.

But there's also the emotional side which I want to share because I feel this is the hardest part to deal with and people cant see it. We have a fantastic team of people advising and caring for Gareth for all of his physical needs but the mental torture he suffers as a result of this disease is impossible to treat.

I've been thinking how to summarise all of this and I thought I'd describe it like this.

From the moment you hear the diagnosis EVERY single day is a day of losses.

I'm sure you can think of the big ones....not seeing your children grow up, get married, go to college, being able to move, to eat, to speak and so on. And they are hard enough to deal with, but there's also the hundreds if not thousands of small ones which crop up continuously and like I said, there's at least one every day. 

Such as....I can't pick up my child anymore, can't comfort my wife when she's upset, can't play football with my son, can't eat at the table with everyone else, can't give my daughter a cuddle, can't scratch my head when it itches, can no longer contribute to a conversation, can't read to my children, go to the toilet without help.......the list is constant and endless. 

So you find yourself in a constant sad, grieving state and although you try and smile, the realisation of the situation, the sadness, the anger, the frustration, the pure injustice of it all never, ever leaves your mind.

And that's where I feel Gareth and I show and find our strength. We don't sit and cry or shout every minute we feel like this, we give each other a knowing look at least once a day and then get on with it the best we can. 

And I've come to the conclusion that quite simply the reason we have the strength to deal with this mental anguish is because of our love for each other. Love isn't all you need but it gives you strength and capabilities you never knew you had.

I'm not looking for sympathy or want to upset people, that's some of our story and I know we're not alone, this disease affects thousands of families every day, all we want to do is help:
- raise awareness....
- to help raise money......
- to fund research.......
- to find a cure.....
- so that other families don't go through this pain.

The reason we have even begun to help raise awareness is because of the amazing friends we have who are prepared to do mad, crazy things like you Justin!! 

To everyone who has supported Justin in any way Thankyou. Please help by sharing our story, talking to people about MND and I hope that one day soon stories like ours will be a thing of the past due to MND. 

Tracy 



Posted by Ghayes to Walking Wales 4 MNDat 21 July 2013 12:35

Day 10 - A Castle & a Cow (or bull?)

Evening mate, sorry I'm late tonight - was dragged (kicking and screaming) round a mini pub crawl in Porthmadog! And you know how much I despise cider and pubs etc ;) Cheers Tony!

Today was double figures day ! Day 10 had finally arrived. Porthmadog to Harlech. 
Firstly I managed to get a cracking 8 hours sleep (Ffion, Diolch for your bed!). This was despite me 'face-booking' till late and somehow talking myself into wearing a dress on one of my days (arrrrrgggghhhhh!!!) - ( i thought I'd had enough 'Drag' for one challenge !!)

So for the first few miles today I meet and walked with Paula. 


Paula sadly lost her mum to MND and was more than willing to share her local knowledge and navigate me on my way!! (she knew a few handy shortcuts too :))

With Snowdon watching from afar we set off along side the Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway towards Harlech.



Now you may notice 2 flags in the above picture!! That changes, further down in my story :(

Paula bid her farewell and I headed towards my 10th end goal!


Most of the terrain for the last 6/7 miles were fields and farming land - most of which contained sheep and yep! more pesky horseflies ! I'm sure they all got together (Horsefly Committee) this morning and discussed the best tactics to attack me along todays route !!

I also bumped into a local rambling group who seemed to know who I was as well (awareness working in earnest there mate!!)


One of the many fields i came across had no sheep - but they did have cows and/or bullocks ! 


Boris (as I've christened him - i think it was a him?, although I have met some pretty aggressive females in my time!) was obviously not too pleased to welcome me to what was obviously HIS/HER field !!
As I opened the gate, he snorted (not pig snorted, cow snorted), so I thought "Ok, lets just wait for him to calm down and join his cow mates" 
After waiting 5 or so minutes I decided to continue! I started walking through HIS/HER field and IT took obvious objection. 
Boris started to 'trot' towards me (this story is turning into a farce ! cows don't trot !!). Anyhow, I sensed his displeasure at my act of trespassing and decided to TROT away myself! Wrong move. 
Boris picked up speed and I literally ***t myself !! A 200 yard dash (that Usain Bolt would have been proud of), saw me make it to the other side !!

In hindsight, it was pointed out to me that the cow/bull (whatever it was) was only protecting its calf !!

Still, I'm glad my flags were white and not red !! (although always fancied myself as a matador lol)

Which brings me to a solemn moment ! One of my flags had gone "missing in action"
A few miles on from my near-cow-death ;) experience, I realised I had lost a flag !

I tracked back for about a mile, to no avail (and there was no absolutely no chance I was reacquainting myself with Boris!)
Somewhere between PenRhyd and Harlech the flag is flying (albeit solo!)

Despite all this, I soon got to Harlech!!


Decided, that now I had reached the place, may as well check out its only true asset- it's castle !


(Me and surviving flag outside castle)

Great sense of satisfaction today having reached the 10 day mark, even better knowing that tomorrow is the first of my 2 scheduled rest days !

Had spent most of the day missing my mothers Sunday roast dinner :( 
But my 'adopted' mum for the next day or two Glenda totally spoilt me with a gorgeous roast chicken meal - very nice indeed. 

So that's Harlech done, as I say tomorrow is my rest day, so I plan on hitting the leisure centre/pool etc and getting legs stretched and ready for the next 10 days slog! I'm also sure I can find some watering hole to lubricate myself ;)

People are continuing to donate and support mate, there's a hell of a lot of love and best wishes out there for you. It's all totally deserved! Stay strong Gar.

PS - All - please read comments left on yesterday's blog too x