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The support of everyone has been amazing, a welcome distraction to what is going on with our team at the minute. In the build up to the walk, I will be speaking to Neville Southall and Ruth Fox about mental health in the beautiful game.
However, to start the ball rolling, I caught up with Lee Adams who did the walk from Fulham to Reading earlier this season. He inspired me to return the favour.
Lee and I have never met, and the fans of our two clubs hate each other but, do you know what? We’re friends, united together to make a difference in stopping suicide as much as we can.
We are both dads and there is a slight chance we ain’t perfect. Isn’t that right mate!
He himself has had his own issues with mental health and has spent time in hospital. Do you know what? He just wanted to talk.
Lee tried to take his own life as he thought he was a burden on his family and friends. He bottled things up - does that sound familiar? Thankfully he is still here.
But why did it get to that point?
”It was a build-up of stuff from being a teenager into adult life and as a lot of us I brushed it under the carpet.”
Mum and dad had the old school approach of just get on with it.
That’s when I found @calmzone where I could identify with everything that was written.”
Lee, like the rest of us with mental health stuff going on, is a brilliant actor and spent years helping others despite his own issues. So he decided to walk to our ground, the bloody lunatic!
He then cycled to Preston for Fulham’s recent away game at Deepdale - he stacked it 45 minutes in, cuts galore, but:
”Preston were so accommodating, even looked after my bike.“
Now he is kindly joining me on the walk back to Craven Cottage before he walks to Birmingham from Fulham for the last game of the season.
He is bonkers and so am I, that’s what makes us who we are.
We are in it together; two clubs and two bunches of fans that are going to rip each other apart during the game but share a beer afterwards. Football united together to make a change - that’s not a bad thing is it?
Keep sharing and spreading the word - we are in this together. Follow us on Twitter @HuntyRoyal @Matchwornshirt, please donate, and even come join us on the walk!