For those of you who know me well, know I am a fun loving clown who loves to see people laugh and be happy. I suffer from Depression. It hit hardest a number of years ago and I have fought it tooth and nail since to defeat it and I feel I am now in a good space. At its worst it ended my 25 year police career, lost me a few friends and put a massive stress on my wife and family. Not to mention it n
early took the ultimate toll on me. If not for the courage and love of Michelle, Holly, Josie and Jake, I probably wouldn't be here today. The mountain just seemed to high to reach by myself. Problem was I was only looking at the top of the mountain, and a while ago I realised I needed to "Reach beyond the Mountain". Your reach is unlimited. In May 2017 I am setting off on somewhat of a journey to discover the fun loving guy I once was. I will be heading to Nepal and trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp and then onto and up Imja Tse (Island Peak) at 6189 metres. It's the mountain on the cover photo of this page. Although a long way short of Mt Everest (8858 metres), it is still a substantial climb. On top of all that, I haven't climbed anything like this in my life. How hard can be? Over the years the depression has taken its toll. My weight sky-rocketed, my fitness plummeted and my overall positive outlook on life died. I intend to regain them all through good healthy eating, a sustainable fitness and exercise program and the power of positive thinking. I now work only part time, part time and spend the rest of my time looking after the family unit and my other passion, Motorsport Photography. Again, this is only possible because of the support of my wife. Along the way I am going to be raising money for Beyond Blue. www.beyondblue.org.au It would be fantastic if you could throw any of your small change into the on-line donation page. Every bit counts. All (every last cent) donated goes to Beyond Blue. I am funding the trip myself. I am being supported along this journey by the BMW Club Queensland and come June 2017, I hope to have a substantial donation to give to the great people at Beyond Blue. We must stop the su***de rate in Australia. In 2014, there were 2,160 males (18.4 per 100,000) and 704 females (5.9 per 100,000) that died by su***de, a total of 2,864 deaths (12.0 per 100,000), which equates to an average of 7.8 deaths by su***de in Australia each day. Not a week or a month. Each Day. It effects every single walk of life. Lawyers, Doctors, Pharmacists, Council Workers, Builders, Soldiers. Did you know since 2001, more soldiers have committed su***de than were killed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. How is this acceptable? I wont be sugar coating this. Depression in its many forms is as real as any other disease. In the 24 hours after you read this, almost 8 people will have killed themselves. 50 people will have tried to. So join me on my adventure as I post updates and milestones before the big day. Could you also share this page on your page so as many people get to see it as possible. Cheers
Dave
