In 2015, at the age of 21, I had a brain haemorrhage which left me paralysed down my right-hand side and as a result, caused psychological issues. After completing my Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards, I had always wanted to achieve my Gold Award. After I became unwell there was a time when I thought achieving this award would be near impossible.

I saw DofE as a huge milestone that I could potentially complete, with the intention of making me feel human again. I really wanted to bookmark my ‘incident’ and think okay something awful has happened, what can I do to turn this around and make it a positive. The Gold DofE was really me showing myself what I can achieve.

The expedition was the most challenging aspect of my DofE by far! From not being able to walk, to hiking 101km over my expedition was the most challenging thing I have ever done, but also the most rewarding! To be able to complete my number one goal post-rehab is potentially my greatest achievement to date.

The award has helped me in so many ways in terms of fitness, confidence, time to process what had happened and ultimately over come so much to achieve the award. I will forever be grateful for the experience.