Many people know nothing about this period in my life. In 2010, I had an accident at Reading Festival which left me unable to walk due to fluid on my skull/brain, this caused me to lose consciousness every few minutes for about 3 months of my life.

The attacks didn’t last much more than 30 seconds but along with leaving me unable to walk, I struggled to hold a conversation because of the volume of black-outs I was having, couldn’t hold a bowl of hot food or have a bath without someone sitting on the floor to make sure I didn’t drown. It was basically, a pretty horrendous time, especially at 19 years old.

I made a 'miracle' recovery which, in itself, was 'overnight' but the lasting effects took months to heal. I struggled with depression and anxiety for a long time afterwards and was terrified of crowds of people. Now, I'm healthier and genuinely happier than I've ever been. My life has taken a completely different direction to the one I had expected. 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. If I can run a marathon after this, you can do anything you want to do.

Thank you to everyone who pulled me through the dark times, you're my inspirations x
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Dear Bexx,

It's August 2010. A few days ago you set out to have one of the best weekends of your life with some of your closest friends at Reading Festival. I bet you didn't envision your weekend ending in a medical tent? Things are going to get worse before they get better, it's a rough ride but you'll come out the other side stronger.

You have Aaron and Christian to thank. They picked you up when you hit the floor. No one really knows what happened, you were struggling with your breathing after stupidly going to the front for Biffy - you'll go there again, don't you worry about that! But something changed during Dizzie Rascal, as you walked out of the crowd you just collapsed. It seems that someone kicked you in the head or stood on you, no one knows. Make sure you say thank you to your friends for getting you out of that crowd so quickly. It could have been a lot worse.

Thank your Dad for coming to pick you up, and your mum and sister for everything they'll do for you in the next few months. That will be literally everything; you're not even going to be able to bathe alone for a little while, but I promise you will come out the other side of this.

There are going to be lots of hospital trips, overnight stays and tears over blood tests (stop being such a wimp). Thank Ryan for holding your hand and not giving up on you, it would have been easy for him to do so. No one is going to be able to tell you what's wrong because no one knows. Don't listen when they tell you it's all in your head though, the people that matter know how much you're suffering but don’t overlook the fact they’re suffering too. You’re very lucky to be so loved.

Thank Karen for giving you wheels, they'll give you a tiny bit of freedom for a few weeks, ignore the stares from all the ignorant people. They don't know what you're going through. You can tell your mum and Karen that they’ll develop all kinds of crazy pillow skills, talents they won’t have to use for much longer, and as funny as I may seem, wearing a hoodie in a wheel chair is not a source of amusement!

Thank your Granddad, because he has the key to getting you the treatment you need. And thank your neurologist, Dr Chong, he knows he can make you better. You're going to be scared for quite some time, a few months. They'll be days you won't even remember because you have so many 'attacks', mid-sentence you'll just drop in to a different world, it's hurting people around you to see you like this. You're too young to be this ill, so try and smile when you can in the knowledge that this isn't permanent.

Let me tell you a bit about you now. You're working full time again, you've worked in London but you're back in Maidstone now, you've finally got a dog and you're living away from home - independent, some may say. But this is the part you won't believe. Right now, you can't walk 6 feet but in three years’ time you will have completed the London Marathon, and you will be planning to run twelve more marathons (may be this has had a lasting effect on your sanity). You've raised over £11,000 for charity with help from your family and friends, and you're now trying to help other people to raise more than double this amount. Pretty mental hey?

You are going to suffer for a while. The seizures will seem to go on forever. There will be days when it seems to happen thousands of times but every episode is an episode closer to the end. You'll go blind at one point but that's a sign things are getting better. One day, something is just going to snap and the problem will be solved. You'll walk again and in the blink of an eye, your black-outs will be a distant memory.

You might not believe it right now but you can do anything if you set your mind to it. Don't let anyone tell you any differently.

Love,

Your future self x

Fans of the Team Run 12 Facebook page and followers on Twitter are in with a chance of winning a Hot Air Balloon Ride, worth £250, by simply encouraging friends and followers to join the Team Run 12 family! 

In order to raise that phenomenal £25,000, Team Run 12 need as much support as possible! So, when we hit 250 Facebook fans and 500 Twitter followers (both must be achieved) we will announce one lucky winner who will be flying at heights of up to 3,000 feet in a hot air balloon!

The lucky winner will receive a Red Letter Day envelope containing a Hot Air Balloon voucher which will see them meeting the balloon pilot, helping to inflate the balloon before jumping abroad and floating sky high to phenomenal country side views! 

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for one Team Run 12 supporter, for your chance to win follow either of these three simple steps:

1) LIKE us on Facebook

2) Share any of the Hot Air Balloon competition posts with your friends and family (by simply clicking the share button, as seen in the left hand image)

3) Keep up to date with Team Run 12 and wait to see if you're a winner!

OR

1) Follow us on Twitter
2) Retweet any of the Hot Air Balloon competition posts to your followers
3) Wait and see if you're a winner!


Good luck! 

**Winners will be announced when both social networking goals have been achieved. Fans of Team Run 12 are invited to join us on Facebook and Twitter for double the chance to win!

Taking on the challenge of completing a marathon is a very serious challenge. Whilst recruiting the Team Run 12 team, Becky had very few requirements; “I wanted to find people who were passionate about the charities more than anything, running experience wasn't overly important, I completed a marathon with just 88 days training having only run 10 miles as my longest run, not that I’d recommend that!” 

Having recruited three 'non-runners' to the team, Becky started a search for someone with a little running experience by contacting running clubs across Kent. Nearly a dozen applications flooded in but one application really stood out. “Normally I’d wait a few days before sending the second application form to applicants.” Becky said, “but when I received Shelley’s application I responded within minutes of receiving it, I hadn't even met Shelley but I had to have her on the team.”

Shelley Abela is an experienced runner, looking after Run England Maidstone, a running group for all abilities and having already completed the Brighton Marathon in an impressive 3:46:41, qualifying Shelley for a ‘good for age’ place in the 2014 London Marathon, she was exactly what Becky was looking for. Before Becky contacted Shelley she had already decided to take on two marathons in a week in 2014, “I don’t like to make my life simple,” Shelley jokes “I decided to run the Brighton and London marathon in April 2014, just one week apart in a bid to raise money for charity.” 

Shelley was due to start training for a winter marathon this August but on July 25th, Shelley was diagnosed with a Grade 2 invasive lobular breast cancer. “To say it was a shock was putting it mildly, you always think you’ll be fine and that these kind of things happen to ‘other people’, this time the unfortunate other person was me.” Shelley’s prognosis is very good, the cancer has fortunately been found early. 

Bizarrely, Shelley was contacted by Team Run 12 exactly one week after her diagnosis. “After receiving the email I replied immediately ‘YES ME!’ I wanted to do it” Shelley explains, “I received an almost immediate email back, inviting me to join the team. I had my first real cry since my diagnosis. It is unlikely that I will be able to complete my winter marathon, because of the treatment, but this was a real motivator.”  

Becky, captain of Team Run 12, said “It is an honour to have someone like Shelley on our team; she is a true inspiration and another reason to train hard for all of the team members. One of the reasons I wanted to run twelve marathons was to inspire other people to do something to improve their health – if Shelley can preserver with training through something like this a few hours in the gym a week for a ‘healthy’ person should not be difficult!”  

Shelley is aiming to contribute £2,000 to the Team Run 12 target of £25,000. You can show your support for her by donating here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/TeamRun12

Shelley is currently awaiting her treatment plan. You can follow her treatment and training by joining her facebook group, www.facebook.com/ShelleyAbelaMarathonBlog. 

Good luck Shelley! We are in awe of you the London Marathon for Team Run 12 and will be cheering you on the entire way.