Paul Walton “I have lived a very fortunate life, being married for over 40 years, having two healthy children and now a grandfather to 5 beautiful grandchildren (ages ranging from 18 months to 8 years old).

I have spent most of my adult life responding to emergencies and caring for people, having worked with the Melbourne Fire Brigade (MFB) as a professional firefighter, Victorian Ambulance Service and Tasmanian Ambulance Service as a Paramedic.

During my time with the emergency services, I have witnessed and been involved in situations that have been difficult and sometimes broken my heart, especially the jobs I have done where children have been involved. I have spent a considerable amount of time in the children’s hospital with patients (the kids), and their parents, sometimes spending longer than I should have to talk with the parents and being a shoulder to cry on.

In 2022, I received a panic call from my son telling me that his daughter (my granddaughter) was suffering a seizure and an Ambulance was not available for an hour. Fortunately, I only live 10 minutes away and could respond and transport my granddaughter and son to the Royal Children's Hospital. The initial treatment and follow-up treatment have been excellent. All Victorians should feel very fortunate to have such an incredible medical system, especially for the kids.

My wife and I donate yearly to the Good Friday appeal, but things have changed this year. I now live in a fantastic community at Lifestyle Deanside, where people are very kind and generous. So, I came up with the idea of riding to each community to raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital (children with cancer).

Lifestyle Communities® has been amazing, offering to support my initiative, so it was a no-brainer to do something more than just a simple annual donation.
This challenge won’t be easy, but it will be much easier than the challenge children with cancer face daily.”