Epic moped trip raises £7,616 for intensive care

Father travels length of country on a 20-year-old motorcycle

GRATEFUL father Martin Wilson has raised £7,616 in an epic 1,000-mile ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats – on a 20-year-old motorcycle.

The trip raised cash for the intensive care unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, as a heartfelt thanks to the doctors who saved Mr Wilson’s son, against the odds.

Mr Wilson, a 68-year-old father of three, and his wife Sheila, from Curridge, were devastated when doctors told their son Paul, who lives in Wash Water, that he had a 10 per cent chance of surviving a medical emergency.

Paul, aged 40, who has four girls of his own, was diagnosed in January with non-Hodgkinson’s lymphoma.

Mr Wilson senior said: “After undergoing three rounds of chemotherapy, Paul collapsed and was rushed to accident and emergency at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a perforated bowel.”

Paul underwent emergency surgery and was given only
a 10 per cent chance of
survival.

His father said: “Two days later he underwent a further operation and the outlook at the time could not have been any worse. Paul spent 33 days in the intensive care unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital before being transferred to their high dependency
unit.

“Our whole family were absolutely amazed by the total dedication and expertise of all of the staff in the ICU, the consultants, specialists and nurses that worked tirelessly to give Paul a chance of recovery.”

Mr Martin set off on his sponsored trip in July on his old Honda C90, travelling around 1,000 miles in seven days on minor roads, avoiding motorways.