Each trip covered 16k, which meant in total he hiked more than 200k and walked a quarter of a million steps. He has managed to raise over £700 but the donations are still coming in!
His story is particularly remarkable because four years ago he couldn’t even walk due to a severe case of saturated gout, a type of arthritis that runs in Neil’s family. The gout affected all of his joints and the pain at one point, was so unbearable he was confined to a chair and couldn’t hold a glass of water.
After 18 months of physio, a long-term course of medication and a diet designed by a specialist, Neil can not only walk but is fitter than ever.
“I was determined to not let it define me. I spent those 18 months recovering both physically and mentally, now walking is a big part of my life,” he told us.
Neil has now turned his attention to helping others and we could not be more grateful.
“I chose the Buddy Bag Foundation to donate to because they are so devoted to helping kids in need and 100 percent of donations go towards this goal.” he said.
Neil also had other challenges to overcome, because his hike was intended to be each day of the 12-days of Christmas, this meant he had to battle sub-zero temperatures and face lockdown restrictions. Out of the 50 hours he spent walking 40 of them were in snow and ice making the terrain slippery and tricky to walk on.
But despite facing all this, we haven’t met a humbler man, who told us that he didn’t really talk about his condition because other people have it tougher than him. Well, we think Neil is extraordinary and would like to thank him for choosing us to be part of his incredible journey.
He now has his sights set on even bigger challenges in the name of charity when lockdown is over, and we can’t wait to see what he gets up to next.
