Warwickshire and Solihull Blood Bikes

The 16th of November 2024 marks 5 years since our wonderful Dad, Husband, son, brother and uncle passed away, Adam Klucis.

My dad was ill for quite some years, however it was always on the horizon that he was going to have his magical operation and be better. When this operation was just a few months away, the worst possible luck struck him, and his body just couldn’t take any more. His organs were shutting down and his body was letting him down, even though his mind was the strongest, most determined to fight. For a month, he received a number of emergency blood transfusions that gave him and us hope. These transfusions wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the incredible work that the blood bikes do. In our situation, it was the Warwickshire and Solihull blood bikes in particular. A group of volunteers who drive all over the area with life saving pints of blood.

Those drivers were the only part of the health profession that DID NOT let dad down. It’s a shame the rest of the weak £100 grand a year GPs didn’t show the same urgency. For Dad’s funeral, there was of course only one charity we were going to raise money for.

16th November is also our beloved Grandma Margaret’s birthday. A year after my dad passed, she celebrated her 70th birthday. She was the most unselfish woman you’ve ever met and so, she donated all of her birthday money to the blood bikes too. In her lifetime, she also donated over 100 pints of her own blood! An incredible achievement that she and the whole family were so proud of. Little did we know, 2 years later, she would pass away, completely unexpectedly. The loss we have felt in this tight knit family is unexplainable.

So, the 16th of the 11th will always be a day where we shiver, we dread, we drink and we cry. Therefore, this year, I am organising a walk. From the walsgrave hospital, the place where my dad took his last breath, to Mancetter cemetery, the place where we laid him and my grandma to rest. The total distance of this walk is 16.11 miles, quite fitting if you ask me. And, of course, we are raising money for those incredible blood bikes. ANYONE is welcome to join the walk from ANY point. It would be incredible to have as many people as possible join us at the start, throughout, or at the end, to share their own stories they may have of Dad or Grandma.

Every single penny that goes to the Warwickshire and Solihull blood bikes is spent on saving people’s lives, and we couldn’t think of anything more fitting.

Please, please, keep Adam Klucis’ and Margaret Hardy’s memories alive, forever and ever