Tonight, like many thousands of people in the UK, my husband and I are watching Sports Personality of the Year on BBC1. I am not interested in sports and never have been. I prefer the arts, hence my passion for writing and crafting. But for some strange reason, I always have to watch this award show, and I cannot fail to be aware of major sports activities around the world as I listen to BBC Radio 5 Live almost every day.

Anyway, I have seen the heartfelt support for our famous sporting heroes who are currently ill with serious brain injuries following accidents in 2014. I am talking about Michael Schumacher and Jules Bianchi. Now, I do not profess to know anything about these men, apart from what I hear on the BBC news programmes and across social media. However, their accidents came at a very strange time for my family.

You see, on March 9th 2014, my father-in-law, Steven Green, had a serious cycling accident while out on a routine Sunday morning training ride in the Staffordshire Moorlands countryside. It came as a complete shock. I mean, he did have a cycling accident in January 2013, but that was an isolated incident from which he recovered sufficiently enough to cycle from Lands’ End to John O’Groats in May 2013. Oh yes, he is my sports personality of the year!

My father-in-law rediscovered his favourite hobby back in 2010, and since then he has cycled in Sportive challenges all across the North West of England and in London. He cycled Coast to Coast in 2012. And he did the big challenge, Lands’ End to John O’Groats in 2013. His challenge for 2014 had been to cycle the length of Ireland in September, but that wasn’t to be. Following the accident back in March, where he was airlifted to hospital and spent a month in Critical Care, he remains in hospital. We don’t know when he will return to full health. He was pretty much unconscious for his 60th birthday. But he is a fighter. And we are certain he will return to us in time. Until then, I would like to say that I am very proud to be your daughter-in-law. And Merry Christmas, Steven Green.

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