A grandfather and grandson team will shortly be cycling an incredible London to Hazel Grove route to raise money for a Stepping Hill Hospital appeal.
Not content with recently successfully cycling from Holyhead in North Wales to Hazel Grove, Derek Farndell, 68, and his grandson Lewis Regel, 15, will be riding all the way from Finchley Road in London to outside the Three Tunnes pub in Hazel Grove, starting Saturday 24th August, and finishing Sunday 25th August; a longer distance of over 150 miles.
Derek is riding to thank hospital staff for the care they gave him three years ago, when he was severely ill in intensive care. Derek had suffered for a long time with severe hernias and chronic stomach disease, but he was rushed to A&E in June 2016 when his condition became life threatening.
Following major surgery, Derek was in an induced coma for over four days. Although his life was severely threatened, thankfully he was able to recover and go home with the help of the hospital’s surgical, ITU and medical teams.
Since then former JCB driver Derek, husband to Mary, a dad of three, granddad of five, and great-granddad of one, has been busy helping to raise money for the hospital’s Scopeguide fund. Derek is unable to have further treatment for his conditions now, so he is going all out to help others. His last bike-ride with his grandson from Holyhead finishing up at the Hazel Grove Carnival in July was a great success, and they hope to do even better this time.
The ScopeGuide will help patients who are undergoing undergo complex procedures such as colonoscopies - which look at the lining of the large bowel to check for bowel cancer, ulcers or growths – by making these examinations quicker, easier and more comfortable. The current equipment is fully effective, but the Scopeguide will be an improvement. The fund needs £40,000, and is currently more than half way there with over £26,000 thanks to many generous donations from the public.
Derek said “I hadn’t rode in over 20 years before I started training for the Wales to Stockport ride, but I really got into it in the end, and Lewis did too. We’re determined to raise as much as we can for the Scopeguide fund, so we’re both going the extra miles!”
Derek and Lewis’s journey will take in Milton Keynes, Leicester, Coventry round Birmingham, Stoke, Stafford and Macclesfield before finishing off outside the Three Tunnes pub in Hazel Grove, where they will be a Gazebo and bucket collection awaiting their return on the afternoon of Sunday 25th August.
You can donate outside theThree Tunnes pub on the day, or sponsor Derek and Lewis’s ride at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ScopeGuideFund (leave the comment ‘Team Derek’ with your donation) or get in touch with Derek at 07927 737897 or derekfarndell@gmail.com
Note: dates have changed since the story appeared as the ride had to be delayed due to weather conditions.