May I firstly wish you all a very happy New Decade. On Wednesday 08th January 2020 I received the outcome from my most recent MRI scan.
The disappointing news is that there are early signs that my Cholesteatoma, that robbed me of my inner ear, and with it my hearing in my right ear, but was successfully removed with surgery 6 years ago, is returning. I have been referred back to the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, who looked after me so wonderfully last time, to investigate this possible re-emergence further. With nothing left in the right ear there is no further damage it can do in that ear but I do ask you to pray that it does not spread into the left ear and start to do damage there before the Forth Valley Royal Hospital can treat it.
The great news is that my brain tumour continues to show no signs of returning. There remains no measurable tumour. Great news indeed and it confirms that the decision to move my check-up scans from quarterly to 6 monthly as being wonderfully correct. I have also managed to capture another 5 smiles since I last wrote to you and hope they make you smile too.
The other great news is the result of this scientific study in America that has confirmed that exercise combined with a diet including additional fruits and vegetables will greatly enhance your life expectancy. This is what I have been saying about my balanced daily lifestyle but with only me as living proof that it works not many were listening. Now we have a study that involved one hundred and eleven thousand people saying the same thing. My hope is that more people will listen and start to make those small changes to the way that we lead and live our daily lives in order to improve our overall health, fitness and longevity and in so doing reduce the pressure on our NHS and the environment and climate. Please, for the good of yourself and those around you please follow my balanced daily lifestyle as closely as you can. It is amazing how quickly the figures stack up.
So I give you the challenge in numbers since the start of the challenge on 20th August 2015:
- Years spent Beating the Beast: 4.41
- Months spent Beating the Beast: 52
- Weeks spent Beating the Beast: 208
- Days of challenge activity completed: 1040
- Total Miles Cycled: 3,744.01.
- Total Miles Walked: 3,529.65 Both the cycled and walked distances are close to the equivalent distance of Edinburgh to Anadyr in Russia.
- Total Miles Run: 864.07 The equivalent of Edinburgh to Reykjavik in Iceland.
- Total Miles Paddled: 17 The equivalent of Edinburgh to Dunfermline.
- Total Distance Cycled, Skied, Run and Rowed in the gym: 465.86 miles which has taken me all the way down to Torshavn in the Faroe Islands.
- Total Distance Swum: 12.96 miles The equivalent of Edinburgh to Dunfermline.
- Total Miles covered under own steam: 6,789.81 The equivalent of Edinburgh to Beijing and Back.
- Total Height Gained under own steam: 505,662.394 feet. At over 95 miles and climbing I am now bobbing about in the Thermosphere of Earth’s Atmosphere.
- Total Golf Balls Played: 2,288
- Total Holes Played: 180
- Mountains Climbed: 9
- Hills Climbed: 50
- Days of Voluntary Activity: 28
- Weight Training Sessions: 44
- Weight shifted: 5kgs lifted over 15,714 metres, the equivalent of carrying a 5kg weight from Edinburgh to Tranent.or 93,888kgs, 93.88 tonnes moved over a metre, the equivalent of pulling the Space Shuttle one metre.
- Aerobic Circuit Sessions: 28
- Press Ups: 7,654
- Pull Ups: 1361
- Sit Ups: 15,742
- People Met and Hands Shaken: 1042
- Total Smiles Captured: 36
- Pots of tea shared: 87
- Pills popped: 4,331
thankfully Pills Popped is now rising only very slowly because I no longer need drugs to manage my epilepsy or the symptoms of my Neurological Dysfunction, just a small Aspirin a day to help thin the blood to the brain to help manage my SMART Syndrome and a bladder pill a day to help me sleep through the night without needing the loo.
- Total Almonds Eaten at approx. 8g a day: 8.32kgs
- Total Apples Eaten: 1040
- Total Bananas Eaten: 1040
- Total Blueberries Eaten at 40g a day: 41.6kgs
- Total Brazil Nuts Eaten at approx. 13g a day: 13.5kgs
- Total Bread Pumpkin and Sunflower seeded (preferably wholemeal) Eaten at approx. 2.5 slices a day and with approx. 18 slices in each loaf: 144.44 loaves.
- Total Butter Eaten at approx.. 20g a day: 20.8kgs
- Total Carrots Eaten at 100g a day: 104kgs
- Total Dark Chocolate 85% Eaten at approx. 14g a day: 14.56kgs
- Total Eggs Eaten: 1040 (86.66 dozen)
- Total Flaxseed Eaten at approx. 37g a day: 38.48kgs
- Total Green Tea Consumed at 2 cups (237ml each) a day: 492.96 litres
- Total Mango and Passion Fruit Smoothie consumption at approx. 150 ml a day: 156.0 litres Total Milk consumption at approx. 330ml a day: 343.2 litres
- Total Oat based muesli and Granola Eaten at 110g a day: 114.4kgs
- Total Oily Fish Portions: 208
- Total Oranges Eaten: 1040
- Total Pumpkin Seeds Eaten at approx 9g a day: 9.36kgs
- Total Raisin and dried Cranberry Mix Eaten at approx. 15g a day: 15.6kgs
- Total Raspberries Eaten at 40g a day: 41.6kgs
- Total Red Grapes Eaten at 60g a day: 62.4kgs
- Total Red Meat portions: 208
- Total Spinach, Rocket and Watercress Salad at approx. 26g a day: 27kgs
- Total Sunflower Seeds Eaten at approx. 8g a day: 8.32kgs
- Total Tenderstem Broccoli Eaten at 50g a day: 52kgs
- Total Tomatoes Eaten at 60g a day: 62.4kgs
- Total Vegetable portions of any type additional to those specified as part of my balanced daily lifestyle taken alongside tea meal (at 2 additional portions a day) with an additional portion a week as a completely vegetarian tea meals: 2,288 portions
- Total Walnuts Eaten at approx. 4g a day: 4.16kgs
- Total White Fish Portions: 416
- Total White Meat portions: 416
- Total Yoghurts Eaten: 1040
My balanced daily lifestyle has helped me to reinforce my most excellent medical treatment to so far kick the expected return of my tumour into touch. Not only that it continues to help me repair much of the physical collateral damage done sustained during treatment. I continue to fight Neurological Dysfunction caused by the damage to the brain done by a combination of the tumour, the treatment, and each and every one of the more severe epileptic seizures. But by using my balanced daily lifestyle to fuel myself like a formula 1 racing car, and exercise my body and brain, in order to strengthen it, protect it from disease, and provide the best possible nutritional support to aide my efforts to retrain and strengthen the brain, I am indeed getting stronger little by little, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year and am so far successfully heading off any decline towards Dementia or Parkinson’s or any other form of neurological disease as predicted. For a healthier and much happier life I implore you all to seize responsibility for your own health, follow my balanced daily lifestyle and in so doing greatly increase your chance of preventing disease from ever happening in the first place. I so very much wish that I had developed my balanced daily lifestyle 20 years ago. It really isn’t that difficult once you get into the swing of it. Neither is it expensive, in fact I have found it cheaper because I am wasting so little food now. Neither am I trying to sell you anything. You really can have a much much healthier and happier life with just the fruits, vegetables, protein and calcium sources available from your local shops with the requirement to supplement only, with a little turmeric and a tiny amount of Vitamin D. No extra lotions, potions, diplodotions or specialist equipment needed.
Finally, so far I have managed to raise – £7,937.16 for the Disasters Emergency Committee. That is great and I am very thankful to all those who do sponsor me. But it could be so much more if I can just get those who are yet to do so to give me 10 minutes of your time and sponsor me to keep fighting even if it is for just £1.00 per month. Every penny counts in the efforts to save lives and rebuild communities for those that need it most, at times of disaster. I guarantee you that every single penny raised is accounted for and goes to the Disasters Emergency Committee. Not a single penny is lost to costs.
Thank you
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Keep eating the tenderstem!
Yours aye
Archie