Row progress

The four men in their boat should soon be nearing the end of their epic journey if their predictions are anything to go by. They said that they would be at Putney at 7pm tonight. We have not heard anything but hope that they are faring well. It must be hard to text with cold blistered fingers. We hope there is a stiff drink waiting for them at the end to warm them up!

Thanks to everyone who has supported them by making a donation to stuff4sam. We’ll be counting everything up and making an annoucement about how much their adventure has raised when they are back on dry land. There’s a strong possibility we’ll have to dust off our old friend the totaliser!

If you haven’t made a donation and plan to do so, what are you waiting for? Its easy via PayPal! Just click on the ‘Make a Donation’ button in the left-hand column!

Hi Sam from Pennsylvania and New York

Hi Sam,

we went to America with the photographers to celebrate Maggie’s 60th birthday. We visited her house near Pittsburgh and while we were there went to an amazing museum. It was a house called Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright, designed in the 1930s. The place lived up to its name as it rained very very hard!  

 

After three days in Pittsburgh, we went to New York. It was very exciting being somewhere with so many huge buildings. Our hotel had 16 floors which was tiny in comparison to the Empire State Building with its 102 floors!

 

We did lots of walking around the city stopping for breaks to eat interesting food. Our trip produced hundreds of photos and some interesting sound recordings (which we look forward to playing you).

Hope to see you soon

 m&h x

Books coming out of our ears!

Another trip to the bank with heavy coins is the result of a prolific amount of book selling recently. Whether it was the recent rubbish weather inspiring weekends with a good book, a serious amount of de-cluttering or some invigorated commitment to stuff4sam, we don’t care! £176 was safely deposited in the account. We’re always amazed how the 50ps add up.

Four men set off in their boat

My old friends ‘four men in a boat’ launched their epic journey down the Thames on Sunday.
 
The great ‘Four Men in a Boat’ journey has begun! Toby, Kip, Eg and Brig launched out from Lechlade-on-Thames in Gloucestershire early Sunday morning and Sam was there to see them off. They are now making there way effortlessly down the Thames at a frightening speed, flying the ‘Hi Sam’ flag.

Complete with camping gear, lots of food and a copious amout of drink they are spending their nights on the shore and in the boat, and days straining their muscles… all raising money for Sam. As they set sail, we saw them in the distance taking their first evenish strokes and Sam saw them disappear from view. Even though Sam didn’t say very much at the launch, he talked non-stop about it in the car and is now keen on going in the water himself! Please give them a wave if you see them on the Thames over the next week.
 
We all very much appeciative of them and everyone taking their holiday time to raise money for Sam’s equipment.

Behind the scenes we are investigating some pieces of equipment that would have huge rehabilitation benefits for Sam. The company that produces the FES bicycle are producing an upper body arm cycling FES machine that would be incredibly benefical for Sam’s upper body. There is also a partial body weight supported walking treadmill that would enable Sam’s legs to be propelled by two assitants over a treadmill to simulate walking and produce a natural gait pattern.

 

There is even new research into vibrating plates that could be used with Sam’s standing frame to maximise his time in the frame and increase his bone density etc. On a different front we are looking into a bicycle that could have Sam’s wheelchair attached to the front – so it could mean we start entering some cycle races with Hugh! So we are making sure what the best thing would be for Sam so that the money is spent wisely and doing Sam as much benefit as can be.
 
We are all incredibly thankful that friends and stangers have come to help Sam. Being completely paralysed below the neck and being on a ventilator, his life has health and meaning because of the equipment you have helped provide. We are thankful that more people have come to help Sam than we could ever have expected – and that helps us keep Sam strong.
 
With our thanks to you all.
 
Neil

Hi Sam from Second Life

Hi Sam,

Here I am on Live2Give Island in Second Life blowing you a kiss. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its Residents who are online versions of themselves (also known as avatars). I’ve been exploring it for some time now to see how accessible Second Life is in the hope that one day we can hang out together there.

Live2give is my favorite place because it’s very chilled and full of interesting people. The island is owned by an avatar called Wilde who is a combination of 9 disabled men and women who inhabit one virtual body. I’ve met lots of other people in Second Life who, like Wilde, are restricted in first life and loved hearing their stories and adventures of places they can visit and things they can do which they can’t do in their day to day lives like go to the cinema, a concert, fly, swim and dance.

I’ve started a Stuff4Sam group in Second Life to help raise awareness and hopefully raise funds. We’re also looking at how we can make Second Life more accessible to people who use assitive technology to access the web. It’s an open group and I would love for you and anyone else to come and join me – the more the better! Just search for “stuff4sam” in groups search section and we’ll pop up.

See you soon, Noodle Cioc x

Row 4 Sam: Four men in a boat

A while ago we posted about four men in a boat’s epic row4sam and the date is fast approaching! Neil, Kazumi and Sam are planning to see them off and the Stuff4Sam team will be there at the finishing line to congratulate them all. Here is an update from the guys:

“Thank you to everyone that has pledged sponsorship so far – it is much appreciated. We will post a final total in due course, but it is looking good. We are nearly ready for the off. We will be leaving Lechlade Boatyard, Gloucestershire at 10.30am on Sunday 23 September and are planning to arrive in Putney early evening on Thursday 27 September. It is hoped that Sam will be coming down to the start to send us on our way.

On Saturday 29, we will be in the Dukes Head, Putney Bridge from 1pm onwards toasting the trip! Please do drop in if you are in the area.

Thank you,

Toby, Edward, Alister and James”

Hi Sam from Cornwall

Hi Sam,

We took this photo on the last day of our family weekend in Cornwall. It was mum and dad’s 40th wedding anniversary so we all went down to the seaside to celebrate. We had a lovely time. The men even went swimming in the sea (which was not very warm)!

Lots of love,

from the Huddy family xxx