My name is Nat Spring.

Eighteen months ago, while taking my primary class on a school trip to Dirleton Castle, I had an accident. 

I hit my head whilst coming out of a dungeon. While it sounds like it could be straight out of a comedy, the reality was anything but.

Initially, I was diagnosed with a concussion and subsequently Post-Concussion Syndrome. Despite 18 months having passed, I still struggle with a range of challenges caused by the head injury which have been life-altering: severe fatigue, sensitivity to light and noise, poor concentration and memory loss.

 

I haven't yet found my way back to teaching, but I have started to move forward by focusing on what I can do.

 

Cycling and going to the gym has been a major part of the regaining some fitness. It has taken me a year to regain my confidence on a bike. To motivate myself, I decided to set myself the challenge of cycling across the USA.

As a stepping stone, I set the smaller goal of participating in Pedal Scotland with my daughter, a 45-mile ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh. We trained for six months together, successfully completing the ride in September 2018. 

With eyes firmly set on conquering the USA ride, I set a second challenge of cycling across Scotland, travelling 150 miles in three days in support of Headway, the brain injury association. 

Headway has helped us as a family to navigate the challenges of a brain injury and its impact on our family life. My faith in God, along with my love of the outdoors and enjoying cycling have all enabled me to remain positive during this difficult time.

I wanted to test myself with a stretch goal, because the commitment to a 3-month ride across the US was a big one. 

In November 2018, I completed the challenge of cycling across Scotland and with the help of friends and family managed to raise £1500 for Headway. While it was an incredible experience, what I discovered was that my recovery was not far along enough to responsibly tackle the USA ride. I needed a different kind of challenge that could meet me where I really was. 

I wasn't ready to take on such a big ride and as disappointing as that was, it was in fact, presenting a different kind of opportunity. In re-evaluating my health, I came up with a new more realistic challenge: 

The Wellbeing 40 Day Challenge.

I needed the goal for myself but wanted to include others in the journey. I'd had a lot of fantastic financial support from family and friends, and sponsorship from local businesses for my Scotland ride, but I didn't feel I could ask them to support me again through donations. 

Instead, I came up with the idea of folk supporting me by doing their own Wellbeing 40 Day Challenge. 

The idea is simple: 

It is not about if, but when, life events come and hit us in the head. 

So, I believe the more wellbeing habits we all have in our lives the better.

What is Yours going to Be?