James's Triathlon (and we reach our target)..........

Yesterday dawned a perfect September day on the Gower Peninsula in Wales. This was nothing short of a miracle considering the weather we have had over the last week, and are forecast to have in the next few days. It was certainly handy though,  as Daniel's Uncle James (and some other brave folk) were about to take on The Gower Triathlon. This was a full Olympic Triathlon, involving a mile sea swim, a 40k bike ride (not trivial on the hilly Gower Penisula), and a 10k run (some of it along a beach, and with a big climb thrown in). James has done a few triathlons in recent years (and twice run the London Marathon), but he wanted to set himself a particular challenge, in order to be able to extract as much sponsorship as possible from friends and family! I am proud to say that he triumphed and completed the whole lot in under 3 hours,  sporting his 'Help Daniel Find His Feet' wristband throughout!

Through sponsorship for his triathlon, and the support we have received from JMW Solicitors (where James works), James has raised around 10% of our total (over £5000). We can't thank him enough, and hope he is proud of his own achievements.

So, here are some memories of the morning.....

It's early in the morning, but James is ready!

The bonkers brave men and women line up on the start

And they're off..........

Now I'm fully awake.....how about a little bike ride?
 

Just need to remember where I parked my bike.......

That's the bike ride done. Now for a short run........

About to cross the finishing line......

A good morning's work! Anyone for Fish and Chips?

James's efforts yesterday also mean that he has the honour of having officially pushed us over our original £54,000 target. I am not eloquent enough to explain precisely how it makes us feel to have had such incredible support, from friends, family, colleagues and strangers over the last few months. All I can say is that we have been totally astonished by people's generosity, with their time, their ideas, and of course their money, and we would like to thank every single person from the bottom of our hearts. Daniel's operation is due to take place in St Louis in November.

When we set our original target, we only factored in funds to get us started on the first few months of physiotherapy after the operation. Many families restart fundraising when they return home after the operation, in order to cover the ongoing physiotherapy and equipment costs (it is important to remember that if the operation is successful, to achieve the overall improvements in Daniel's strength and mobility, he will need intensive physiotherapy around 5 times a week for at least 1 -2 years, and this cannot be provided on the NHS). We hope that the events that we already have planned in the next few weeks (and a couple in 2013) will allow for enough in the fund to pay for around a year of physiotherapy, relieving us of the need to restart fundraising when we return. This would be a massive help to us, and we are immensely grateful.