Castle2Cosford

The aim of Castle2Cosford (C2C) is twofold: to promote the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity event Bike4Life, and raise awareness of PTSD. Starting on Tuesday the 12th of April, I will be walking from Edinburgh Castle to the Bike4Life event, at RAF Cosford, Shropshire on Sunday the 24th of April. The distance involved is 300 miles, and it’s going to hurt!

 

During my time as a police officer I attended many road traffic collisions whilst stationed in Telford, Shropshire, meaning I crossed paths with the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity aircrew and I've seen first-hand their clinical expertise which saved lives on multiple occasions. They also helped save my life!

 

In 2010, I was sadly also involved in an RTC whilst riding my motorbike. A car driver in front of me decided, without warning, to brake harshly and turn right into a junction. I subsequently 'T' boned the car, and very quickly realised that I had the aerodynamics and flight capabilities of an anvil! The accident was initially treated as a 'fatal' and it was thought I'd sustained a number of internal injuries. The Air Ambulance aircraft was deployed to the scene. Whilst my memories of the incident are hazy, I do recall drifting in and out of consciousness. Hearing the familiar noise of a helicopter’s rotors approach was the most heartening sound and gave me the confidence that I was going to be okay.

 

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity provides a world class service to all the communities of the six counties it serves. The incidents that Midlands Air Ambulance Charity deal with are both harrowing and traumatic. However, the medical care they provide is for the here and now, and once the incident has been dealt with the ‘crew’ moves onto the next call. Having experienced both ‘sides of the coin’ I want to help raise the issue of post-incident mental health issues. From personal experience, I am all too aware of the dangers of not addressing what has happened. For instance, all those involved in an incident run the risk of developing mental health issues because of the trauma that they have suffered. I don’t just mean the patient, but also their family members, those that witnessed the incident, and equally as important, the members of the emergency services who attended and dealt with the incident. For all concerned, the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is very real.

I hear in the media everyday just how important it is to look after your mental health. The message is, of course, correct. However, what I don’t hear is where I can find out further information about PTSD. That’s why I also want to include PTSDUK as a joint beneficiary of my C2C event. PTSDUK are the only charity in the UK whose sole purpose is raising awareness of PTSD; the causes, the symptoms and the treatments available. From my perspective and ignorance, I didn’t realise just how widespread PTSD is and just how easy, and quickly it is to develop. PTSD is a pernicious condition that anyone can develop if they have been exposed to trauma, no matter what that traumatic event was.

For all information concerning PTSDUK and the vital work that the charity does can be found on their website at: www.ptsduk.org

All the latest news and information about the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity can be found on their website: www.midlandsairambulance.com

All funds raised during this challenge will be equally distributed between both these charities, at the end of the event.

If anyone would like to join me during any stage of my walk, be that for a few yards, a mile or even further, there's an open invitation to join me on-route. I will be carrying a 'live-tracker' for the duration of my event and you'll be able to see where I am when I'm on the move.

More details about the event, including locations, routes and timings will be posted on my Facebook page:  @castle2cosford
(Fear not, a much younger, wiser person told me that you don't have to be my friend to access this Facebook page; you just have to 'like' it.
I, of course, have absolutely no idea what that means because I'm 59!)