Articles

Sal van den Bosh 700 miles challenge for fibromyalgia

Details

Category: General Information

Published on Tuesday, 17 April 2018 13:42

Hits: 3214

Sal win go on a 700 miles bus trip using her disability bus pass to help fellow fibromyalgia sufferers. 

To donate visit Sal’s GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/headsquirrels

Read Sal's inspiring story: ‘’I’m going to be taking to the roads from the 1st to the 7th July, travelling from Northampton to the Scottish Border and back using nothing but local bus services. No trains… no coaches… no shortcuts!

How?
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in the autumn of 2016, and after battling with local councils for a bit, I was lucky enough to find myself in possession of a disabled bus pass which allows me free travel on bus services throughout the UK. With a lot of careful planning, mapping, and scheduling, I’ve plotted a route to the Scottish border and back which will take 7 days, and cover approximately 700 miles. Each day will involve multiple changes and in total I’ll be spending around 36 hours on public transport… not for the faint hearted! I’ve been lucky enough to find sponsorship for overnight accommodation when I don’t have access to crash space with friends.

Why?
As well as living with fibromyalgia, I’ve experienced mental health difficulties my entire life. I was diagnosed with chronic depression and anxiety at 18, and with borderline/emotionally unstable personality disorder when I was 26. I have received a great deal of essential help over the years and I desperately want to give something back to charities which help people like me. Fibromyalgia is a ways off being fully understood and people like me suffer daily in the face of there being few treatment options when it comes to managing the symptoms - Fibromyalgia Action UK provides essential information and support to sufferers, carers, and medical professionals alike.

In the spring of 2016, I had a serious mental health crisis and had the extraordinary luck of being taken in by Maytree Suicide Respite Centre - they pretty much saved my life and sent me on a new direction in my life, which has re-written my future for the better.

These charities are tragically overlooked when it comes to fundraising, so I want to do everything I can, not only get them funds they sorely need, but give them some much-needed exposure along the way.

So..?
Please take a moment to donate what you can to my fundraising efforts, and I will do my best to keep you informed and entertained in the run up to my adventure, and along the way. I have created a Youtube video diary to document my mission, the planning process, and talk a little about my disabilities from a personal and more general point of view. What I’m doing isn’t just about raising money - it’s about raising awareness. This trip will be gruelling and painful and I don’t expect to get through it without a lot of hardship and heartache, but I want to use that struggle to highlight the fact that these illnesses aren’t “all or nothing” afflictions. Just because I’m ill doesn’t mean I can’t achieve great things, but equally, just because I can achieve great things doesn’t mean I’m not ill. I think it’s very important for society to recognise that.

As well as visiting and subscribing to my Youtube vlog, you can like my Facebook Page and join the Sal Headsquirrels’ Adventure Army group where I hope to gather together a great gang of new friends to cheer me along the way (both online and in person) and give hour by hour updates as I make my way north and back! Any updates, whether on Facebook, Youtube, or to this campaign will be highlighted on this page as I go along so please do come back and check out my progress over the next few months. And please share this campaign and encourage your friends and family to donate too. These are such important and overlooked charities and I want to do everything to help them out.

Thanks for donating, and I’ll see you on the road!’’

To donate visit Sal’s GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/headsquirrels