NO LESS than 29 kind-hearted cyclists will bike more than 150 miles in aid of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) next weekend in memory of a Studley youngster who sadly passed away last year.
Jordan Smith, who attended Studley High School, was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect at 11-years-old and underwent a very rare type of surgery on March of last year.
The operation, which took surgeons at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital 12-and-a-half hours, has only been performed 20 times in the last 15 years in Europe but was deemed a success and Jordan recovered well and was given the all clear in May.
But sadly in June 2015, he deteriorated and despite the doctors’ best efforts he passed away on June 27 at just 16.
Before his untimely passing, Jordan had been planning to cycle from his home in Studley to his grandparents house in Weymouth with his friend, Simon Stanley.
The pair planned to complete the ride in a single day in June, something which Simon said was going to be ‘a stretch’ for him but ‘did not worry Jordan’, who had triathlons ‘in his sights’.
Simon decided to do the ride in Jordan’s memory And so the idea of ‘Jords Wey 150’ was born.
Now more and more riders are signing up to help fund raise for the charity.
The youngest rider is 19 and the oldest is Jordan’s grandad who is 71-years-old.
The group will depart from Studley High School on Saturday (April 30) at 9.30am and will arrive in Weymouth the following day on May 1 – which would have been Jordan’s 17th birthday.
Lee Gray, headteacher at Studley High School which is supporting ‘Jords Wey 150’ said: “The ride is a wonderful celebration of Jordan’s love of adventure and sport.
“Jordan’s family and friends have worked tirelessly in his memory to raise money and help others, whilst honouring and celebrating the life of a very special young man.”
The teenager was planning to attend Henley in Arden College to study sport in September 2015 and was a gifted skier, having skied since the tender age of three, and his ambition was to qualify as a ski instructor after enjoying the pastime with his dad, Paul.
Jordan’s mum Jo said: “Jordan was extremely kind and generous. He embraced the role of big brother and was a huge support in looking after his little sister Harriet, who was born with physical and learning difficulties, and loved spending tine with his big brother Cory.”
So far the group have raised more than £2, 200 but are still campaigning to increase the total in Jordan’s memory.
Visit https://www.justgiving.com/JordsWey150 to show your support.
