Tim Virtually Cycles 874 miles

In March 2019, Tim Hartill suffered a bleed on his brain and underwent life-saving surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Tim is now taking on a virtual cycle challenge from Land’s End to John O’Groats to say thank you to the staff who cared for him.

When admitted to hospital, Tim was found to have Endocarditis, and needed a replacement heart valve. He spent several weeks on the Critical Care Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, where he received amazing care from the staff on the unit. Speaking of his experience, Tim said “I cannot thank the critical care staff enough for their tireless hard work in looking after me during an extremely difficult few weeks.”

When Tim was well enough, he moved to Mosley Hall Hospital where he spent four months in rehabilitation. He finally returned home in October 2019, and with continual physiotherapy has regained the use of his left leg and movement in his left arm. With continued hard work, he hopes to be able to walk by the end of this year.

In addition to the incredible recovery Tim has made, he is now taking on the additional challenge of fundraising by cycling 874 miles at home. Beginning on 18 May, Tim has cycled every other day, with the aim of completing his challenge on 30 June. His friends and family are also helping, contributing to the overall distance by walking, running, and cycling on Tim’s rest days. With their help, he has made incredible progress and has already completed the full 874 miles, and with his team now plans to complete the return distance too!

Tim has received overwhelming support, raising over £2,700 so far. Half of this money will be donated to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, where it will be used to help fund a Mobile CT Scanner, an essential piece of equipment for the Critical Care Unit (read more about our fundraising appeal here).

To find out more and support Tim’s fundraising challenge, visit his GoFundMe page here.