Blood Pride

It's been 24 years since I was diagnosed with Haemophilia, and if I had the choice to go back, I wouldn't want to live a single day without it.

The reason is simple...through all the bleeds, the injections, the bruising, the surgeries, the pain, the scars and the traumas, it has taught me one of the most valuable lessons in my life;

Haemophilia is in the blood...not in the mind

Since founding an online forum for Haemophilia in 2007, I have received hundreds of emails from parents and patients concerning the affects of Haemophilia and Von Willebrands disease in every day life. Many of these respondents are new mothers and fathers, uncertain about what the future will hold for their new born son/daughter with a bleeding condition. In general, the most common question I receive is "Will my child live a normal, healthy life"?

This is a question I had to battle with everyday whilst growing up, and as someone who has lived through and experienced it all, I learnt one simple truth...the only disability I will ever have is the denial of how much I can achieve in life.

This is something I sincerely hope to prove by cycling across as many countries in Europe as possible over the next few weeks. I hope to not only raise funds for the Haemophilia Society (UK), but to reassure those parents, concerned about bleeding disorders, that there is nothing their son/daughter can't achieve in life...all it takes is the desire to overcome.

I will be cycling with a good friend of mine from Gibraltar (Tony Offley), who will be raising funds for St. Johns, Wobble and Riccs. Even though we have both agreed to this challenge, neither of us have any professional cycling experience, and have no set route planned for the journey. Our only mission is: "as long as the support is there...we will keep going".

For our blood, for our pride...