Break Expectations...

About eighteen months ago I was called into my GPs surgery to be told I had end stage Osteoporosis which, at the age of 47, was definitely a curve ball I wasn't really expecting.

As I'll share in my next post, it's not that I didn't expect something bone related to come back and haunt me at some point, I just perhaps expected it a little later in life, and to a much lesser degree.

The diagnosis, the result of a DEXA scan I'd been sent for a few weeks earlier, was part of a multitude of tests in a year long approval process for a biologic treatment that would hopefully neutralise the symptoms of the Eosinophilic Asthma which had slowly been eating away at my life for the past four years. Again, a subject for another post.

During the diagnosis and approval process, I'd been placed on steroids to suppress symptoms that often made walking and talking unbearable and, in the months that followed, as if taking some form of repayment, the steroids had seemingly stripped out my bones.

In the time it takes to make a brew (which he didn't), my GP completely disassembled the already tenuous plans I'd built for a future in which I could breathe, and brought my lifelong blue sky brain very much into the here and now with his machine gun questions and comments.

"Do you live alone?"

"Do you have stairs at home?"

"Do you exercise?"

"Gym, absolutely not. Cycling, definitely not. Crowded spaces, wet floors, flat soled shoes, coffee, alcohol, fun... right now slipping off a kerb could be dangerous for you!"

"Both your spine and hips came back at -4, the maximum number the test allows, requiring serious intervention and changes to your lifestyle Mr Hawksworth!"

With the promise of 'normality' offered by the biologic treatment I was shortly due to start, and a mental pre-50 life crisis waiting in the wings, I only had one question;

"So what exercise can I do?"

"Walking is a great way to stay active."

"Rambling!"

"No, flat surfaces ideally, to minimise the risks."

Seven months later, thanks to the miracle offered by the biologics, Michelle (my wife) and I were sat outside a pub in Ambleside, enjoying the fruits* of the 12 mile walk from Bowness.

[In between my diagnosis and that crisp cold post-walk pint, it also turned out my body had become dependent on the steroids that were hollowing out my bones and so walking had become a staple part of my regime as the medical team work to wean me off the steroids and kick start my adrenal system.]

"I need a challenge!" I proclaimed.

"Like what?" Michelle replied.

"I don't know. Let's have another pint and figure something out."

And as I stood at the bar I noticed an old book about Wainwright's coast-to-coast walk, a 190 mile journey from St. Bees head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay just outside Whitby, taking in some of the lake district's greatest peaks and some of Yorkshires most isolated moorland.

With IPA overspilling, I raced outside to share the idea.

"It's not exactly flat is it! You'll need someone who's crazy enough to do it with you!"

And so the TwoTwelve was born... ...and I had the perfect partner in climb in mind!

About The TwoTwelve

On the 11th September, Spencer Fosbrooke and I will set off on a 12 day hike, covering 212 miles, from the Irish sea on the West coast of England, to the North Sea on the East coast, raising money and awareness for a range of charities who provide research, respite and recovery for disabilities both visible and hidden and both physical and mental.

From mountains to moorland we'll be navigating our way across the country, discussing our own personal experiences with disability whilst also listening to the stories of others, from charity ambassadors to authors , from army veterans to seven-time world record holders.

By challenging ourselves, and through the stories shared, we also hope to challenge the stereotypes, stigmas and silence that often surround both physical and mental health.

We hope you'll support us in our endeavour via our JustGiving page here and if you'd like to get involved in some way, shape or form, please email us at [email protected].