seventh August 2024
Final modified on August tenth, 2024
Darren Blanks plans to set off on sixteenth August and arrive on thirteenth September 2024. He’s elevating cash for a ski membership that helps veterans with sight difficulties.
The 28-day journey covers over 850 miles and Darren plans to be will probably be working 30+ miles a day.
He’s enterprise this feat of endurance to boost cash for The Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Membership, VIV Ski Membership.
The membership was based over 45 years in the past to present veterans with visible impairments an opportunity to get pleasure from per week of snowboarding or snowboarding every year.
For people who find themselves members of the VIV Ski Membership, snowboarding is a crucial a part of their rehabilitation and ongoing well-being.
“The membership helps members to realize confidence and freedom on the snow with assist from a devoted workforce of skilled volunteer guides, most of whom are veterans themselves,” stated a spokesperson from the membership.
“All our visually impaired veterans (VIs) are registered blind, with their impairments starting from closely blurred imaginative and prescient to zero sight.”
Darren has accomplished the Boston marathon.
Picture c/o Darren Blanks.
Darren was a Challenger Two foremost battle tank driver and spent 5-years within the Kings Royal Hussars.
He had accomplished two excursions of Iraq earlier than he was 20-years outdated.
He left the military in 2008.
“Numerous my relations wore glasses, so I simply thought I wanted a pair and popped all the way down to my native Specsavers for a watch take a look at,” says Darren.
“All of it went downhill from there.”
The primary inkling it was one thing critical was when he noticed workers members inspecting his outcomes and shaking their heads.
They referred him instantly to hospital and he was ultimately despatched to have a mind scan.
It revealed Darren had an acoustic neuroma on his left aspect, a benign tumour that grows on the vestibular (stability) and cochlear (listening to) nerves.
“I used to be solely 23 and also you don’t count on to have a tumour at that age,” he says.
Darren had the tumour eliminated on December 1st, 2010.
Because of the operation, he was made fully deaf in his left ear.
Three days after Christmas his well being deteriorated much more.
Darren thought it was only a runny nostril, however it turned out to be spinal fluid.
His cranium had cracked open in the course of the surgical procedure and he was affected by a cerebral spinal leak.
And a second bout resulted in him being admitted to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, the place he spent eight days in a coma within the intensive care unit.
In October 2011, a blood scan revealed that Darren suffered from Leber’s optical neuropathy, a uncommon genetic illness that may steadily make him blind.
Understandably, he spiralled into despair.
“I wouldn’t depart the home,” he says.
“I wouldn’t go to the nursery to select up my son as I didn’t need to decide the flawed child or go to the flawed room.
“I used to be scared to speak to folks in case I used to be chatting with the flawed individual.”
What pulled him away from the black gap was the assist of his household and pals and the sporting alternatives supplied by the Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Membership.
Regardless of his sight deteriorating to the place it appears he “is trying by way of a frosted automobile window, the place solely daring colors might be seen”, he has learnt to ski on the annual ski journey to the Dolomites in Italy.
Picture c/o Darren Blanks.
Right here at PlanetSKI we want Darren properly and can updating on his progress as soon as the problem begins later this month.
Picture c/o Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Membership.
For extra data and to become involved please contact comms@vivsc.co.uk
See right here for Darren’s Simply Giving Web page the place you can also make a donation.
His goal is £8,500 and Darren has already raised £2,581 from 69 supporters – that’s 30% in direction of his goal.
See right here for extra on Darren’s Fb Web page.
Picture c/o Darren Blanks.
Concerning the Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Membership
The Ski Membership has been taking Visually Impaired Veterans Snowboarding for over 45 years to totally different ski resorts.
For the final 20 years it has been utilizing the realm Val di Fassa within the Italian Dolomites.
The realm is huge and might cater for the newbie to knowledgeable skier each absolutely sighted and visually impaired.
“All our Visually Impaired Veterans are registered Blind and their kind of blindness is various from what a sighted individual would see as blurred to zero visibility,” stated the Membership.
“As a ski membership we will cater for all sorts of snow sport and have lately had one in every of our visually impaired members obtain his Snowboard Teacher Qualification.
“This journey is a key a part of their rehabilitation and the imaginative and prescient impaired veterans assist organise and run this journey at their very own private price.
“This builds up their independence the place they funds, arrange journey preparations and construct confidence which improves their lifestyle.”
Right here at PlanetSKI we will probably be posting afterward the work of the Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Membership as Darren begins his run from Land’s Finish to John O’Groats, so do examine again for that…
