Help me to raise funds for prosthetic equipment.

Hi my name is Glenn I am 56 years old and come from a small town called Stanley in Co Durham in the UK.

My story really starts around 1995, when quite out of the blue I took ill with a giant cell tumour in my Right leg. Following the removal of the tumour in 1995 it returned 7 months later, into 1996. It was at this point I was offered limb salvage in order to try and save my leg. An internal prosthesis called a Kotz prosthesis was surgically inserted into my leg.

Over a decade passed by with constant infections, pain and limited mobility. Eventually after surgery went terribly wrong in 2006 I elected to have a right above knee amputation.

I had always had a passion for cycling before I took ill, however due to the restricted movement in my poorly leg this had been impossible, however when I had my leg amputated my first thought was to try and relearn how to ride a bike.

I am proud to say I overcame the various challenges and have now been riding since 2008. Later in that same year I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, this was managed until I required chemotherapy and antibody treatment in 2015 to 2017. During this period I continued to ride, treating the cancer as a personal challenge. I have been very fortunate in the past to have been supported by some amazing people and had a lot of my prosthetic needs met, in return for doing promotional work.

I now find myself in the position of attempting to self fund a sports knee called the Bartlett Tendon G3 Infinity Knee. My old generation 2 knee which I have had over 5 years is worn out. Prosthetic equipment is very expensive and unfortunately there is no provision here in the UK to follow your passion.

My local disability service centre does provide me with a micro processed knee which I use in my day to day activities such as walking about, and in my job. I work as a rehabilitation assistant on a busy stroke unit. However this knee is not suitable for riding my bike.

Another aspect to prosthetic needs is a comfortable fitting socket, again very expensive to self fund. I am desperately trying to manage to achieve my goal of continuing to ride as this is a huge part of my life concerning both my mental and physical wellbeing.

In the past I have raised money for various charities including Cancer Research UK, Help for Heroes and a Foundation close to my heart Arctic ONE.

Given the opportunity I would love to endeavour to go on and continue to pass it forward as it were.

If you think you could help it would be very much appreciated.

Kind Regards

Glenn