Up The Farway Tree

We did it!!

Saturday was the big Team Jac walk and I am pleased to say that myself and Seb made the whole 10 miles :-) There was an excellent turn out with around 160 team members and all plans went really smoothly - everyone being on time and the buses (thanks to McKechnies of Bathgate and Jack Simpsons mini buses) leaving promptly, which was great as we had to do a couple of runs to get everyone to the start point in Elie. The weather at that point was cold but dry and we got off to a good start - however the predicted showers turned into a continuous downpour! Spirits remained high though and I just saw it as an extra challenge to be overcome. The Crusoe hotel in Lower Largo had kindly set up a room for us to use while catching a coffee/pint and a chance to dry off a little before the last few miles. I have been assured by those wearing pedometers that it was probably closer to 11-12 miles in total, so that's even better! I managed the whole route without too much difficulty - I didn't feel too tired, my lungs were top notch and gave me no trouble but my back was a bit of a hindrance. We were walking on sand for a good part of the route and this played havoc with my back, which resulted in a very sore hip the next day. Even by today though I am much better and walking (almost)in a normal fashion again.

Seb was a total star and trotted the whole way, closing his eyes against the rain and wind, but never stopping. He was still hyper when we got home and appears to have had no ill effects at all....clearly fitter than I gave him credit for!

Another high light of the weekend was finally meeting my friend Emily. As Emily was staying with us we got plenty time to catch up, and 10 miles of talking non stop was surprisingly easy. Emily astounded herself by also completing the walk, so we were a very happy pair. Amusingly Seb took a real like to her and followed her around for the entire weekend. During the walk he insisted on walking at her heel, even though I had the lead, and he wouldn't go on if she was behind. I like to think he knew it was hard work for her and was just making sure she was ok :-)

On the money front we have now smashed the £10,000 mark and money is still coming in from offline collections. I will be adding this all to the Just Giving site as we get it, so keep an eye on the page for the latest total. I cannot believe the generosity shown and I hope this money will go a long way to helping others in my situation.

I have been looking back at some old blogs to see what I was doing at this time last year. I was a couple of weeks post transplant at this stage and a one of the quotes from this time seemed rather apt;

"I also had my lung function repeated today and it was 50%. I must admit to feeling quite disappointed as I am desperate to see a big improvement and just dream of having near perfect lung function. I just wish I could see into the future and beyond this immediate recovery period because at the moment I am still finding it hard to imagine myself doing 'normal things' like taking Seb out for a walk. I think the difference will be when I get back home into my own environment and start to discover all the new things I can now achieve".

If only I had known quite how far I would come! It's almost too easy to forget what it was like last year. Even after I got home from the transplant I could still only walk a few minutes down the road. It has been a great year - some ups and some downs, but more of the ups - so maybe this time next year I can look back and see how far I have moved on again. 20 miles next year anyone? ;-)

I will leave you with some pictures of the walk - I have all my pics uploaded to a website, so if you want the link please email me (weejaqAThotmailDOTcom) as I don't want to put the link in the public domain, as other people are in the pictures.

Before the walk - waiting on everyone to arrive

My group ready to start the walk in Elie

Arriving at the end...rather wet!