Hi everyone,

It’s been 12 months since leaving Salisbury hospital. The 'Beast from the East' was at its worse on that day, and it made for a stunning, if not a little bit fraught journey back home to Gloucestershire.

My year since has been a real learning curve. I seem to discover something new almost every day on how to make things work best for me.

The Physio 'John's Journey ' gives me has been so good for me. My upper body strength and balance is quite something now, I really didn't think that I'd be this strong in such a short length of time. I've had to be careful of my legs due to some nasty pressure sores that have plagued me since leaving hospital. The good news is that they are almost better; they have had brilliant attention from the 'District Nurses' which has paid dividend. I'm now starting to exercise them again and they're starting to gain tone and circulation.

One of the things that has changed the most is my appetite. Early doors after my injury I had been feeling quite giddy around food. Now my appetite is now back to normal and I have started to really cook again. My increased appetite and a subtle change in my strong medication and my physio regime has definitely made a difference to my overall quality of life.

On Friday I went to a family wedding at Elmore Court ,a building that I had maintained for my last 10 years of my decorating business.It was a strange feeling to be somewhere connected so strongly with my life pre -accident, remembering how I used to buzz around the old house. The wedding was a great success in part due to the venue and the welcoming atmosphere of the Elmore staff who were always a pleasure to work with.

On my last visit to Salisbury hospital I was approached by one of their physio team ,to see if I could do some mentoring with some of their patients who might be struggling with their injuries. This is an avenue I will pursue, as it will be my way that I can give something back to people after being shown so much generosity over this last 18 months. I will make it available to anyone who might benefit from this and will inform everyone when I'm ready to start .

A massive thanks to everyone for your donations to John's Journey I will be eternally grateful for this.

Yours John