Mini spring update

Hi!  This is just a very short update to fill you in on the last few months.  I have nearly completed a 6 month neuroplasticity course where I have essentially been rehabilitating my brain.  It has been life changing! 

Lyme disease directly affects the brain and I am so pleased that doing the brain physio has improved the quality of my life. 

Returning to work feels closer than it has in the last few years - happy days!

A few days ago my wonderful friend Tracy dropped me an email to let me know she was running another 10K race to raise awareness and money for my ongoing medical bills this year.  I am so touched by her thoughtfulness and courage in taking on another race. 

A very important part of healing my neurological system is not thinking about symptoms - whether it be pain, sensitisation to noise or fatigue- and not discussing them which is why I have had to leave my blog for a while and why I opted not to actively fundraise myself so far this year. 

However I absolutely have to post to say thank you to Tracy and all her supporters, without you I would not be here now, dog on my lap, looking ahead into the future.  I will be forever grateful.

That's all for now folks!
love sarah 

Sir Dave's Triumph

Hello!  Wow, those two months went by so fast :-)  All good here at AnyWhichWay HQ.  My trip out to see my Dr last month went very well, she continues to be pleased with my recovery - as are we!

At about the same time as we were flying across the Atlantic, my fabulous friend - Dr Dave Tittle - was pedalling his heart out, putting the miles in for the Any Which Way Challenge.

Dave spent October 18th at his Veterinary Hospital astride an indoor bike and pedalled for over 10 hours.  This challenge was called The Sufferfest and involved 10 gruelling cycling video challenges.

We were never in any doubt that he would complete the task!

 

He also knocked another 146 miles off of our target - amazing!

 

So many people helped Dave on the day, especially Andy U, Louise and Ben,  Nina, Jon, Ellis, Geraldine, Andrew B, Phil, Lisa Marie, Kate, Claire, Gina and Rob.  To all of them and everyone who else who supported and donated - thank you!  You are wonderful people!

 

 

Sir Dr Dave - as we now have to refer to him ;-) - raised over £1000 as his epic challenge even went Stateside and when we arrived Dean, Caroline and Amy made a really generous donation to his fund.  As did the Doskis family!  We were so overwhelmed by such generosity and it was really lovely to meet them too.  Thank you never seems to convey how grateful we are to each and everyone of you xxxx 

 

Sir Dr Dave also did some great tick awareness publicity too - http://www.mypetonline.co.uk/news-and-features/news/fund-raising-challenge-vet-lyme-disease

 

Dena, Greg, Margot and Phee also must get a mention as for the second year in a row they let us hang out with them while we visited my Dr.  This saved us a fortune in hotel bills but most importantly gave us the chance to spend some quality time in their family.  Love you all.

 

Huge thanks also need to be sent out to Pam and Terry, Angela and Tom, Kath, both my family and Nic's family for all their love and support - financial and practical! 

 

To every single one of you who has helped me over the last 4 years - I am so incredibly thankful.

 

I am loving the improvements I am making and really excited about the future.  Watch this space xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                               An Autumn Update

It's been a very hectic six weeks filled with lots of incredible triumphs from the Any Which Way fundraisers.

Firstly the Legend that is Andy Cairns raised over £1100 by running 92miles in less than 24hours.  It was such an amazing achievement and we are all so proud of him!

Next up came Paul who completed his third marathon triathlon this year, bringing his total of miles up to around 90 and raising over £650 in the process.  Paul, I owe you a large scotch!

It was then my husband Nic's turn to take part in the challenge.  He opted for a sprint triathlon at Bodiam Castle, the swimming part of which was around the moat :-)  My step daughter Lilly, super friend Em and I had a great morning watching Nic and Andy compete.  He managed to raise £690 and take 16.5miles off our challenge total.  Epic.

 

So, my fantastic friends have covered over 1000 miles and raised over £3940! 

To Matt, Tracy, Laura, Emma, Andy, Paul and Nic and all of their supporters - THANK YOU! 

This has taken a huge worry off of our shoulders as my next appointment in the USA is in 3 weeks time. This should cover the majority of the tests and appointments that I need.

Our next challenger is Dr Dave who is going to take part in an event called The Sufferfest!  This is going to be as intimidating as it sounds, with Dave spending October 18th, cycling on an indoor bike for over 11 hours continually.  He is a big part of his local community (being the Super vet that he is) and is already generating a lot of support.  Read more about the challenge here - http://www.thesufferfest.com/sufferlandrian-community/knights-of-sufferlandria/

All the miles he notches up will count towards the Any Which Way challenge - we still have 2547 miles to go - no pressure Dr Dave ;-) 

In other news I managed to take part in an awareness piece on Lyme in Woman magazine a few weeks ago and will be speaking about Lyme at an evening event sponsored by Merial.  I still have days when I am very symptomatic and doing these sort of things can result in a week flat on my back however, if my story can prevent others from treading this path then it is totally worth it!

Thank you once again to everyone who has supported my quest to return to full health, you are all superstars!

Chat soon xxxxx

2 months and in need of help!

Warning!  This may be a more serious post than folks are used too...

First things first, I am continuing to do well.  I'm on some pretty heavy duty medicine at the moment which has taken a bit of the shine off my good days but it is necessary and not forever, so I can take it!  Every moment that I'm well enough, I am squeezing in as much time with friends and family as possible.  It is so lovely to be able to do so many fun things and I am forever grateful.  Sometimes the horror of the last few years comes back to me and I just cannot believe I am here, mostly pain free and mobile.  It is a huge blessing and unlikely to have happened without everyone supporting me as you all have, so again THANK YOU!

Paul and Laura are still undertaking The Any Which Way Challenge and they have been joined by Andy Cairns who is running in a 100mile race next Saturday.  Just for an extra challenge, he is aiming to do it in under 24 hours......total madness!  He has set up his own fundraising website - http://www.youcaring.com/sarah-bignell-howse-381076 and is doing an amazing job, with £338 raised so far.

Meanwhile my husband is planning on taking on his first triathlon in September, with Andy, so more on that another time.

My next appointment with my Lyme specialist has been set for October and with it, the necessity of finding  the £4000 we still need to fund it.  I have spent many hours in the last few weeks investigating grants and loans that are available to individuals.  So far I keep arriving at the same brick wall.   

Everything that we don't need is on ebay and a wonderful friend of ours donated lots of about to be skipped goods which are also on ebay.

We still have several friends helping us by undertaking the Any Which Way Challenge later in the year and my parents have fundraised, with their friends donating too. 

I am struggling to work out what else I can do to find £4000 and hoping that someone, somewhere may read this and have a bright idea they'd like to share.  If you do, please don't hesitate to get in touch.  There MUST be a way to make this happen.

Meanwhile Lyme is popping up in the news more frequently and hopefully bringing with it awareness and better chances of you or your loved ones being able to prevent ending up in this situation. 

Sending love and tick awareness to you all xxxx

Laura, Paul and new challenger Emma continue to plough through the miles!

Another 95 miles completed in our transatlantic challenge!  Slowly but surely, we are getting there!

This time it is thanks to Paul, Laura and new warrior Emma.

Paul took on the Windsor triathlon, the second of three he is taking part in.  There was a 10km run, a 42km cycle and a1500m swim in the River Thames - not for the faint hearted and pleased to say he survived!  Thank you Paul xxx

Laura is made of steel as she battles multiple injuries in her quest to climb all the mountains over 3000 feet in Wales.  Her latest conquest took her over the Llanberis path on Snowdon, amassing another 17 miles and 4 peaks in 12 hours.  You are a super woman Laura, thank you!

Emma embarked almost a month ago on a pilgrimage across Spain.  Yet another friend dating back to our time at the Royal Veterinary College and who now lives back in Canada.  She has very kindly donated her last 100km (62miles) towards our Any Which Way Challenge.  Her updates have been filled with beautiful photos and sheer grit!  As I write this she has only 20km left - and has lost more than a few toe nails....  Emma, you are hard case - thank you for continuing the multinational theme of the AWWC!

To everyone who keeps supporting all my wonderful Challengers, thank you.  I have had two really good months health wise and am on the next layer of my treatment.  So far, no nasty side effects!  Sending you all love, Sarah xxx

The AWWC is well under way!

I'd like to introduce you to next victors in The Any Which Way Challenge - Tracy and Amelie!

In the middle of May Tracy braved her first ever race which she ran as part of the AWWC to fundraise and raise awareness for Lyme disease.  Her supporters raised over £900 in an amazing show of generosity.  Again, I thank you all so much.  Amelie took part in the mini mile too, bless her little legs!

For me the best part was that I was well enough to travel and cheer them on!  This would have been unthinkable three months ago and really shows how far I've come.

The isolation that Lyme brings is something that you have no choice but get used to.  Part of it is the extreme fatigue (I don't mean tired, I mean, do I have enough energy to put a wash on or have a shower?).  The pain and immobility means that driving is difficult for me.  I was reliant on others to ferry me around if I was up to it which wasn't very often.  Throw in the noise sensitivity and confusion that it brings and you can see why Tracy and I have not seen much of each other in the last 3 years!

It was a very emotional day and I loved it being part of it.  Thank you Tracy xxx

In other news...

Paul Smith was also busy starting his part in the AWWC.  He is doing not one, not two but three triathlons!  The first one has been successfully completed.  It was the Snowdonia Slateman which involved 1000metre swim across a very cold lake, a 51km swim and a 10km run.  Crikey! Of course, he totally nailed it and warmed up in the hot tub afterwards :-)  More photos to come and next challenge is 14th June and involves swimming in the River Thames.  Rather him than me.

Sadly Andy is injured so the Ultra marathon planned in June is off.  He's discussing a kayak challenge with my husband so watch this space.

A new addition to the team is Laura Klimaszewski.  In June she is going to tackle the Welsh 3000's which involves climbing 15 mountains in Wales, usually within 24hours!!!  This challenge is only suitable if you are an experienced and very fit mountain walker, which luckily Laura is!  She is fundraising for me and also for her local search and rescue team.  I'm so excited for her and very jealous, this sort of challenge would have been totally my thing a few years ago.  It is now on my list of things to do to celebrate my recovery. 

 Well, that is all the Any Which Way Challenge fundraising news for now!  If you are feeling inspired and what to get involved, please let me know!

Over and out, Sarah xxx

The Any Which Way Challenge Chronicles Part One

As you may have read, our transatlantic challenge began in earnest last month with the legend that is Matt Hogg undertaking a dirt bike adventure in the Himalayan mountains with some of his buddies.

 

The news of the devastating earthquake arrived to me by Matt himself and never have I been so grateful for facebook.  Matt had just returned to Kathmandu after successfully completing part one of his trip and his girlfriend Kim was due to arrive that evening.  The day before he and his friends had travelled directly through what would be the epicentre of the next days earthquake.  Really scary stuff.  We were so thankful that all the team were unhurt especially when so many others had lost their lives, our hearts go out to everyone in Nepal.

Kim and Matt were due to hike in the foothills of Everest for the next 3 weeks but wisely followed advice to leave Nepal so this adventure remains on their to do list.

Matt covered 745 miles over ten days travelling through the villages and national parks. He took in the massive scenery, friendly wheelie encouraging locals (Matt fell off and needed xrays!) and gruelling, rocky terrain. I think one of his posts on facebook speaks for itself  "This is the best motorbiking I have ever done by far, I'll be back!".

Matts friends and family raised over £500 towards my Lyme treatment funds and I would like to give a big squeezy hug to them all for supporting me.  Below are some of Matts photos from the trip which he very kindly allowed me to share, plus a link to an interview they both gave just after the earthquake.

 Matt and Kim were interviewed about their experiences during the earthquake - http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-couple-caught-apart-in-kathmandu-by-nepal-earthquake

Next blog will be concentrating on the amazing woman that is Tracy Griffiths.  She is running a 10k and her two children are also taking part in a mini mile.  Her friends and family have raised over £600 already.  I'm also very excited as at the moment it's looking likely that I'll be well enough to go and cheer them on...more to follow xxx

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/sarah-s-lyme-recovery-/300766