Congratulations to Amanda Harris for completing her at-home cycle in support of Horatio’s Garden Wales, a remarkable story that’s captured the attention of BBC Wales!

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Please CLICK HERE to read the BBC Wales Story

To watch the BBC Wales report, please click ‘Play’ on the video below.

Amanda is a fantastic, committed supporter of our sixth project in Cardiff and has been putting lockdown to good use by taking on her incredible challenge in order to raise money for the capital appeal. Last night, she proved beyond doubt that she could go the distance, finishing her challenge in the nick of time prior to this week’s heatwave. 

As a former patient of the Welsh Spinal Injuries Centre in Rookwood Hospital, Amanda truly understands the difference Horatio’s Garden will make to thousands of people affected by spinal injury across Wales. Following a cycling accident, she spent weeks on her back at the beginning of her recovery and spent a total of six months undergoing specialist spinal rehabilitation. 

She remembers her time in hospital as a period of immense difficulty and uncertainty, but there were two particular events that allowed her to briefly forget her worries. One was her Mum bringing her a beautiful posy of flowers from the garden of her home in Devon. The other was being wheeled in her hospital bed to the ward door, where she could feel the sun on her face and watch the sights and sounds of nature in a nearby hedgerow. 

Upon discovering that Horatio’s Garden would soon be planting hope in Wales, Amanda passionately embraced the appeal and offered to help in any way she could. As well as being a member of the fundraising committee, she had planned to take part in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46-mile cycle and the Horatio’s Garden Peloton Ride, which would have been a 100-mile cycle starting at Salisbury Cathedral and ending at Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff. 

As the two cyclewere sadly cancelled and postponed respectively, along with the majority of our fundraising events this summer, Amanda was inspired to complete her own athome cycle challenge instead.  

Throughout the past month, she has taken to her recumbent bike (which was on rollers in the family’s back garden) almost every day in order to cycle the distance equivalent to the two cycles she would have been taking part in prior to lockdown. Amanda has shown immense dedication to her fundraising, peddling away against all odds in both scorching sunshine and under stormy skies.

 

As Amanda notes, many of us have been more grateful than ever for our gardens and open spaces over the past few months, which she hopes will help everyone to realise just how important Horatio’s Garden is for patients and their loved ones. 

Having raised a brilliant total of over £3,000 so far, we are absolutely thrilled that so many people have been inspired by Amanda’s challenge and are enormously grateful to everyone who has donated so far. If you would still like to make a contribution, there’s plenty of time and you can visit her JustGiving page by clicking here. 

We have loved following Amanda’s at-home cycling journey and are so thankful to her for thinking of us. We hope that she’s enjoying a well-deserved rest as we speak and wish Amanda and her family all the best for the future.