Welcome

The official launch of Climb to Recovery is a little over a month away, and yet I have been working on it since late February. The walking itself has never been the hard part - although training early on these frosty and icy mornings we have had recently has been getting torturous...so cold; it has been harder to stay positive at times, and to keep asking people for support. I haven't had many knock backs, but often it doesn't take just one email or phone call to get assistance or a donation. So much persistence is required.

Fundraising is hard work, and it takes balls at times - to go and speak to businesses or politicians and ask them for money or help. I find it hard at times, and I am so grateful for the help of Jarrod Read from the Tasmanian Fire Service. He has managed to get some substantial donations, and I know he has had many refusals for each donation obtained. He also got many more volunteers along for the filming of the community service announcement than I was able - even though we did it on the weekend to try and make it easier for people to attend.

I am also so grateful to the volunteers that have been helping me - Sylvia and Chris, and now Keridan - and many others that have offered advice or support throughout, particularly Pene Snashall from Community Relations at the Royal Hobart Hospital. I am also very grateful to Mum and Dad for helping to feed me and Lottie - our appetites have increased dramatically with the extra walking!!!

I have been delighted by the support by many businesses though, and by how big the whole campaign seems to be getting. It is going to need to be big if we are to reach our goal of $50 000 for the Royal Hobart Hospital Statewide Burns Unit. I keep of thinking of things that are outstanding that I had hoped to have gotten more under control by now - we need more support walkers, and more businesses willing to have collection tins, and more donations of course!!!!

The website should be up this week, the community service announcement starting the week after, and the official launch on August 11. I am going to have to learn to write a press release in an awful hurry. It's great to be learning all these new skills, and I think that Climb to Recovery is going to look great on my resume - if we get the $50, 000!!!!!

My body has been finding the increase in both walking training and the time spent at the computer difficult to cope with but, conversely, there have been times that the only thing that has kept me from just throwing in the towel mentally at the decline in my arm function and the increase in pain this year has been Climb to Recovery. I am determine to see this thing through, and walk up that mountain.

This campaign is going to be a hard slog...but hopefully very worth it.