Shrewsbury brain tumour patient Matt to take part in Wacky Rally to raise funds for charity
Brain tumour patient Matt Kelly is aiming to get from northern France to Barcelona in Spain when he takes part in the 2011 Wacky Rally this weekend.
Matt, 36, of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, will be joined by friends Matt Fleming, Sandeep Hothi and Stuart Downes, as he travels over four days in a car that he bought on Ebay for £150. The rules of the rally state that all cars must be bought for under £300.
Matt, who has a two-year-old son Sebastian, decided to take part in the annual event to raise funds for Brain Tumour UK after being diagnosed with a brain tumour 18 months ago.
He explains, “I had started to get double vision and was struggling when I was playing football. I didn’t think too much of it at first, but gradually it got worse. I decided to go for an eye test at the opticians in December 2009 and was referred to my GP as they could see something was not right.
“During December I got worse and worse and was constantly vomiting. I lost a lot of weight and it was obvious something was wrong.
“In January 2010 I had a scan and this revealed that I had a brain tumour. I was diagnosed on the Friday and had my first operation on the Monday.”
Matt, who was treated in Birmingham, has since undergone two further operations that have removed the majority of his tumour. He is not scheduled to have any further surgery, so decided to focus on raising money for Brain Tumour UK.
Matt says, “My wife Charlotte found out about the Wacky Rally and I thought it looked really good fun. I asked three of the lads who I used to work with if they were up for it and luckily there were.”
The team found their 17-year-old Volvo on Ebay which turned out to be being sold by a man whose grandfather had also suffered from a brain condition. The car has since been transformed from a boring grey into an LAPD police car.
The team are hoping to raise £1,500 for the charity in sponsorship and from a quiz which boasted funds by £600.
“I thought it would make sense to try and raise awareness and some money for Brain Tumour UK who are working hard but are massively underfunded for the great work they are doing. The information they have provided to me and my family has been fantastic,” adds Matt.
The rally will start in northern France on Friday, July 8 and the lads hope to make it to Barcelona within four days.
Matt, a project manager at vehicle tracking company Quartix, adds, “It’s going to be interesting, four men in a car without air conditioning and none of us with any mechanical skills, what can go wrong!”
You can support Matt’s fundraising by making a donation online at www.justgiving.com/Matt-Kelly
