#onebigjogle2

My name is Steve Hughes I am a disabled former soldier and wheelchair athlete.

I have taken part in loads of events. This challenge is all.part of what I have achieved and still to achieve.

My aim is to complete 1000 marathons. I started in 2018 and I hope to reach my target by new years eve 2024.

As of July I am up to 648.

My chosen charities are Holidays for heroes and The Artic one Foundation.

I'm fundraising for injured veterans and disabled kids. Please support these two great causes.

Next Year I am accompanying a friend of mine who's ambition is to complete John ogroats to Landsend. Here is his story

Good morning /afternoon/evening], everyone.

 

I'm Daniel Worrall, a 25-year-old from Warrington born and bred.

 

I was extremely fortunate of growing up with a loving family behind me

grandad, nan, dad, mum, sister and a few years after came our boxer dog dukey.

 

It was Age 4 to 11 where school begun for me, starting my days at Barrow Hall primary school

Math English or art wasn’t for me, but if you give me a ball on an open field or a project to build in DT that was my cup of tea

 

After that moving on to great Sankey high school, I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of school

although I was not the sharpest tool in the box.

 

Sports, Taking it back a little, sports played a significant role in my life, starting from an incredibly young age.

I kicked off my career playing rugby for Crosfields where I played for 11 years on and off, was I good? not at all but I enjoyed every minute on the field.

My passion for sports extended to boxing, where I trained with Warrington's Hook and Jab club again from an incredibly young age.

Fishing was also a hobby of mine, which I had a massive passion for, which I shared with my grandfather.

Sadly, after his passing I kept the fishing up and learning how to drive. 1 month later I visited some major fisheries in the UK and France.

 

My professional journey began immediately after school.

when I started working as a labourer.

Through determination and hands-on experience, I progressed to a construction supervisor starting on small sites,

progressing to a waste-to-energy facility

I also worked as doorman in Liverpool's nightlife scene.

 

In august 2017 I went to Creamfields, where after a 3-day festival, let me tell you I was wrote of but couldn’t wait for the next

 

At the start of 2018 I went and climbed Snowden with 4 friends, which let me tell you I thought was hard,

I thought there was one way up, turned out there is 3, and yes of course we picked the hardest route.

 

At the end of 2018 I started my life journey flying all the way to Australia for a 3-month holiday.

whilst also over there I started playing rugby for a local team called west tigers amatures

 

However, my life took an unexpected turn

on January 30, 2019.

Who’s had a bad car journey, well let me tell you about mine

 

Whist driving my car, I was caught in a horrific multi-vehicle accident, which resulted in severe physical and mental trauma, not knowing, who, what, when, why, how.

I crossed the motorway getting hit multiple times, after getting knocked down 7 times, I am very lucky to still be here to tell the tale.

 

Despite these challenges, I was fortunate to receive life-saving medical attention from Dr. Ben Fisher, who happened to be driving past at the time of the crash.

His quick thinking and medical expertise saved my life, puncturing two pens in my lungs to help me breathe.

 

The doctors and ambulance staff put me in a medicallyinduced coma while they rushed me to Aintree Hospital.

Whilst on the way to the hospital the police attended my mum and dads’ home and told them to get in the car as I was in a critical condition and on the way to hospital.

 

I endured a 12-hour surgery where the doctor decided to put a bolt in my brain to relieve the pressure, scaffolding and reconstruction of my spine, my left leg had to have several skin grafts and muscle relocation and I also had my right leg amputated at the knee.

After surgery I was then put into an induced coma for 1 month.

When I woke up the medical experts were unsure how badly my brain had been damaged.

But Slowly and surely, I had to process basic skills such as speaking and remembering due to severe memory loss.

 

I could tell who people around my bed were, but I didn’t know what anything was.

I looked at my mum knowing something was up. I pulled the cover back and saw my right leg was missing but the first thing I asked was why have they kept the other one.

 

3 months In I meet my rugby idol James Roby, after looking 2 or 3 times thinking is that actually him and yes it was let me tell you.

 

The journey was hard, with numerous medical setbacks,

yet, five months later, I found myself at Creamfields again only this time in a wheelchair,

but I knew one day I was going to be back.

 

Just after this time I was kindly given a very generous cheque towards my new wheelchair.

That was more suitable for my needs and was better for my own independence, so I put this towards a very lightweight foldable chair from RGK.

One year down the line with plenty more complications, a left leg that doesn’t work, sepsis and several bladder infections.

After almost 3 years later my options were to either have my knee fused straight which would have caused more difficulties

or have it amputated at the knee the same as the right.

I took it upon myself and decided to have my left leg removed also at the knee. So, in November 2022 I had the surgery and got legless.

 

Fast forward, and with the support of Family behind me I defined medical odds and regained my mobility with prosthetics. Standing nearly as tall as before.

 

I started on stubbies and I was told there was 3 stages until the final goal.

I got on my stubbies and thought what have I let myself in for.

Absolutely sweating knowing a cant wipe the sweat off because I’ve got crutches in my hand.

I persevered and carried on going and going until I could go no more,but even then I kept pushing myself.

 

With hard work and determination 10 months down the line I went from stubbies to the 1st stage of my prosthetic journey.

But having legs that didn’t bend, I just kept thinking how I am even going to get in the car with these on,

but it didn’t take long at all in fact it was 2 months later I got my actual bending prosthetics.

Having a spinal injury made this part even more difficult as they didn’t support me enough to bend them.

So as good as it was being tall, they were no in good day to day life.

After that we all sat down in the limb centre at Preston where Dr Fergus Jepson said I think you are finally ready for the final stage

lets get some microprocessor legs now.

 

And in shock thinking 4 years ago I would never walk again I’ve have done the 3 things that all medical experts said I wouldn’t do,

 

✓ Stay alive after being told I would only have 72 hours to live.

✓ Learn to talk again.

✓ Leant to walk again.

 

So, what to do next. Well, considering I can’t get back into the construction industry, that’s what brings me here today.

I stand here today after giving myself a 10-year recovery period.

Where I have achieved the majority in just 5 years

So, within the next 3 years these are some of the goals I am looking to accomplishing.

 

✓ John o groats to lands’ end in a wheelchair