The Awards & Aftermath
Blog – ‘Awards & Post Awards’
Another week, another rugby club, another blog. This time more difficult to write, because in all fairness I do have a ton of stuff to write about but finding a place which is quiet and isn’t distracting is tough. Starbucks? Friends or veterans always come and meet me there. Carrington? Everyone is always in and out. Home? Have you seen my dog? He’s a distraction on his own! So this time…I opted to go sit in a tea room, so far its proving very welcoming and for someone who consistently gets overwhelmed it’s a rare feeling to feel welcome.
Anyway, as many of you will have seen from LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, BBC North West Tonight and British Forces Broadcasting Service, I was a finalist for the Soldiering On Awards. Where I was surprised to beat some amazing athletes and teams, such as the Invictus team. It was a long day leading up to the awards, but winning it felt unreal, I have no comparable feeling on them announcing my name. It was like the most exciting but emotional moment in my career to date. Partly because I literally didn’t even consider that I would win, so much so, I hadn’t bought a Tux or prepared a speech.
Following winning, as in the moments after stepping off stage which was to over 2000 people cheering and applauding me, I froze, stuttered and panicked to the point JJ Chalmers, told me to take a breath and relax. After coming off stage I got ushered into some sort of a back room for photos, a Radio interview and a TV interview, it is fair to say that was like the shock of capture! It was a very overwhelming feeling, I still don’t understand why I won it if I am honest, however I do fully appreciate it and feel proud for it.
The day of the awards was extremely long, early meeting with Blind Veterans, a 4 hour drive to London for the awards and due to a 1pm Rugby match kick off the next day, I unfortunately had to drive straight back. This was just the beginning of what was meant to be a hectic weekend. I was due at a Gala Ball on Saturday night, but following a shower the antics of the week leading to the awards and the awards forced me to pass out, waking up to find I had missed the ball. This began a very rough few days for me, in total between 5:30pm Saturday night and 12noon Monday I had slept for around 32 hours, Monday luckily was a lieu day which thankfully was okay, as there was no way I was able to get out of bed. The process pretty much went like, small gaze at my phone, a full blown sit up failing 3 times to sit up, then eventually getting myself to the edge of my bed, to look back at my pillow to find I had dribbled blood in my sleep (not a irregular occurrence) then came the attempt to stand up, jelly legs…after a few attempts I realised the dog was on my bed (not a regular occurrence) this means I must have been having night terrors or have been uneasy throughout sleep. After struggling to get up I chose the safer, best option, rest.
Now after reading that, you are probably thinking why put myself through it? Well simple…the reason is bigger than me that’s why. I have a chance to make a difference, help and inspire guys and girls who are like me. I am just thankful the team around me and people who employ me understand and of course my dog.
Thank you for reading, I promise a 3rd one by Monday.