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

Springing into Spring with a twist!

 

 

Hello lovely friends, Spring has sprung and it is now time to launch our new fundraising idea! 

Back in 2013 I fully intended and expected to be back at work by now, financing any on going treatment that was required myself.  Frustratingly this is not yet the case.  Our fear is that without continuing the treatment I could relapse back to where I was and the thought of that is terrifying.

After receiving a few nudges from friends who were aware of our overdrafts and our worries, we decided to launch the Any Which Way Transatlantic Challenge! 

 

I have to travel 3588 miles across the Atlantic to see the Specialist who is helping me heal.  My friends suggested that they match this journey mile for mile on foot, boat, bike, horse, kayak, 4x4 to name but a few and raise much needed funds. 

The idea, as always with this kind of thing, is that if we get enough people to donate a few quid then no-one is out of pocket but a huge amount of money is raised.  My treatment costs £600 a month and I have to head back to the States during 2015 for repeated tests not available in the UK. 

The first few events have already begun!

Meet some of the team –

Matt Hogg-our Aussie friend- is donating his miles from a Nepalese dirt bike challenge in April, and fundraising has already started! (BREAKING NEWS- OVER £400 RAISED SO FAR!) Pictures and updates imminent :-)

Dr Dave – hot off the press, Dr Dave is intending on taking on the huge Sufferfest at the end of the Summer (and may become a Knight of Sufferlandria in doing so!)

Andy Cairns has already run an Ultra marathon in Devon last month, starting our mile countdown off.  40miles down, 3548 to go!  In June he is running a second one – cos that’s just the kind of hero that he is.

Del Barker- our Welsh pioneer- planning on running the Brecon Beacon Ultra Marathon in November, followed by a possible Arctic jaunt (watch this space).

Sarah’s Mum and Dad are holding a coffee and cake morning, trust me, Mum’s cakes are delicious, they are in for a treat.

Egerton Running Club are holding a 24 hour Spin-a-thon.  They are hoping to chew through the miles and raise plenty of cash whilst doing so.

Paul Smith is taking part in two (yes, two!) triathlons this year, knocking off a further 60miles towards our goal.

 

WE NEED YOU!

 

The more the merrier for this challenge – 3588miles is a huge target but we know between us it is totally achievable.  Anything goes for the Any Which Way!  All ideas welcome, you don’t need to be sport mad to join in, just a tad creative eg have a coffee and cake morning – for every £1 you raise, 1mile is achieved – easy!

There is a fundraising page all set up https://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/sarah-s-lyme-recovery-/300766 so all people need to do is donate straight onto the page.  If you are having a coffee morning/car boot/Tango party (the dance or the drink, your call) then it’ll be a case of you paying the money raised onto the page.

 

Please join us or sponsor one of our heroes! 

Those of you who know me understand how determined I am to get back to the job I love.  Long term illness is very isolating especially when you are an active member of the community and more than anything, I want to embrace the life I can see waiting just around the corner.

Please get in touch with me via Facebook or email – sjbkent@hotmail.com if you are able to take part in this challenge or if you want any further details.  

Thank you!!!!!!

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

 

 

 

A New Year, new things discovered, new hope!

 

Happy New Year! 

Our trip out to the States seems quite a long time ago now so thought I would touch base with how things are going.

The results from the many many lab tests came back about the middle of December and I had a 2 hour Skype call with my Doctor to discuss them.  Although she had warned me about the multitude of problems we were dealing with, I had been a tad on the Pollyanna side - hoping that the situation was not as complicated as she suspected.

Her many years experience and thoroughness examining me meant in this case she was bang on and I needed a bit of British stiff upper lip after seeing the results in black and white (and some reassuring hugs from my lovely husband!).

In many ways it is reassuring to know that it was not just bad luck which resulted me being so seriously unwell.  We now know that it is a combination of three tick borne diseases, a zoonotic disease, biotoxin illness, autoimmune disease and some pretty interesting genetics.  Layers of an onion indeed!

Treatment can trigger worsening for a while so the usual rollercoaster of good days, bad days, good hours, bad hours looks set to continue for the time being.  This can be very confusing to people "But you were ok half an hour ago?!" and the unpredictability of it is still right up there on my list of what frustrates me the most :-(

Still, it is best to know what you are dealing with, especially when you finally have someone experienced on board who can look at the whole picture and who has a plan.  I do love a plan.

I have been forewarned that the road ahead is still long, I will need to continue to work as hard as I can to recover but continued improvement and ultimately a full recovery is expected - yippee! 

So that's me for the time being, I'll touch base again in a month or two all being well. 

In the mean time, as ever, thank you for your love and support.  You are all awesome :-)

Worth the wait!

 

Well it was a long time coming but our time in the USA flew by so quickly, it seems almost unbelievable that I'm back home writing this update!

 

We were delivered safely to the airport by some wonderful friends and got lucky with an almost empty flight so I was able to lie down - fabulous :-)  Even though the flight really wasn't that long it was quite a strain and made me realise how much harder this journey would have been physically even 6 months ago.

 

After a great night sleep we hit the road and my wonderful husband drove us out of the city via Manhattan as the New York marathon was on.  It was a bit bonkers looking out of the window at the Statue of Liberty!!

 

Thanks to recommendations from friends who had also made this pilgrimmage, we settled quickly into our new home.  The view from our window was across a nature reserve and the trees were wearing their beautiful Fall colours while birds of prey flew overhead - doesn't get any better than that! 

 

The appointment with the doctor was the next day and crikey, it was thorough.  I had to take some breaks to lie down before, during and after as no avenue was left unasked about or examined, the initial appointment taking 3.5hours!  Over the next few days there were more blood and lab tests but I was in good form so we were able to squeeze in some lovely walks too.

 

The doctor was very optimistic about my continued recovery and felt that my long term prognosis is good - it was like music to our ears and we both felt quite emotional to now have an expert looking after me.

 

While we were waiting for various medications to arrive we were lucky enough to catch up with some friends of ours who we haven't seen in over a decade.  It was just brilliant to hang out, chat and be looked after -forever grateful to them.

 

As a very special treat another of our wonderful friends had arranged a night in the Big Apple for us before we headed back home.  This was so kind and generous and we had a great time checking out Times Square and Central Park.  The photo at the top of this blog is from the staircase where we were staying :-)  Thank you again Fairy Godfather!

 

So, here I sit, Matty by my side on the sofa.  The journey has knocked me around a bit so I am taking it very gently.  I started all the new medications a few days ago and am awaiting all my test results.  It seems like the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle are finally fitting into place and although I have to continue being patient, I am excited to be on my way back to full health.

 

Every day I count my blessings for all your help and support.  Thank you just doesn't even cover it!

 

I'll keep you posted and in the meantime, consider each and everyone of you hugged xxx

USA bound!

Hello lovely friends

A very quick update to let you all know that I have finally got the appointment with the specialist in America!!!

I almost couldn't believe it when I got the call, it seemed like it was never going to happen. 

It's a bit of a team effort with my lovely husband, family and friends to get everything organised so it will be a busy few weeks.

We have so much hope that this will be a real turning point for me and once again I want to thank you all for making this trip possible.  Your support and encouragement has really lifted me during some very dark days, honestly, you've no idea how much it has helped.

We go in November so I'll let you know how it goes!  Sending much love to all xxx