Tom's story
"I am keen to do a skydive, however due to being 6 foot 6 and 16.5 stone, I need to shift at least a stone to get under the weight restrictions."
Tom, dad of 3, has have done a lot of charity work in recent years for Bristol Children’s Hospital’s charity, The Grand Appeal, for his son Theo, who has been severely ill.
The Grand Appeal endeavour to save the lives of sick children and support their families, through providing family accommodation, investing in medical research, and even bringing art therapy to the hospital to help young children deal with any stresses or fears.
It all started when Theo developed chickenpox – a common childhood illness – which then became life threatening. Following tests and continuous treatment, Thomas and his family received the news that Theo has a congenital heart condition, Atrial Septal Defect, which required Theo to have open heart surgery.
Four long weeks later, after a series of infections, blood tests, medication, and high dependency care, the family were given the all clear to go home!
The support from the charity and the staff at the hospital motivated Tom and his family to get involved in challenges to raise money and give back, the most recent one being a 17-mile bike ride that was completed in one day.
Tom isn’t stopping anytime soon though! “I am keen to do a skydive, however due to being 6 foot 6 and 16.5 stone, I need to shift at least a stone to get under the weight restrictions to be considered for a skydive” he says.
Exercising more regularly, whether that’s at the gym or in the pool, was a goal that motivated Tom to hit some goals, keep up with the kids, and lose weight so that he can take part in the skydive.
When he was setting these goals, they weren't just limited to physical ones though, Tom wanted to use exercise for its mental benefits too, helping him become more resilient and ready for the next charity event!
After Christmas, Tom was struggling to find the motivation to stay active, but the swimming pool made him fall back in love with swimming. In between working away and keeping up with a very busy family life, Tom managed to squeeze in some 1km swims!
"Gym, swim and football is difficult at the moment but I'm sure as the weeks go on, I'll find a rhythm." Tom said.
Tom then found a balance and put his fitness boundaries to the test - even if it meant aching a lot! He even set himself a new goal of running the Clevedon Midsummer 10k this June. Swimming still remained a huge part of Tom's fitness routine, due to his children having swimming lessons at their local centre, it allowed the whole family to enjoy quality time together at the weekends.
Tom find a new love for badminton earlier this spring, but this was short lived as later that month he broke his hand, leaving him in a plaster cast for four weeks. This put a pause on his routine and restricted a lot of exercises that Tom was previously doing.
One reason Tom entered our You Can, You Win competition was to raise money for the charity that supported his son, Theo, who recently underwent open heart surgery. "We had a phone call early April to state he was on the list for open heart surgery...he had his surgery and was discharged five days later! He’s doing really well now and we can’t wait to get him back into the swimming pool!"
Rehabilitation of Tom's strength in his hand has also started, with swimming making it stronger and his weight training routine helping him gain the muscle and function of his hand again. "It feels like its back to square one this month, but time is on my side!" Tom said.
If you’ve been inspired by Tom’s story and are looking to set yourself a challenge for 2024, we have a range of gyms across a wealth of our centres which can cater to all abilities. If it’s your first time in the gym, or you’d simply like some guidance, we offer a range of introductory sessions including group introductions, 1-to-1 support sessions and monthly programme reviews.
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