Team JJ in Dubai 2012

Well hello everybody I am writing this on the train home from London having just flown into Heathrow from Dubai absolutely exhausted. We have been spreading the Joiningjack word in the Middle East. "Why Dubai?" you may ask....There are a number of reasons...

...Firstly Andy has friends all over the world and when one of them, Andrew Wingrove, found out about AJ's plight, he wanted to help. He arranged some events out there that would meet two of our main objectives, raising cash and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Secondly, Dubai is a place close to Andy and Alex's heart. They got married there, they holiday every year there and one of their best friends, Rebecca lives out there. They feel at home there. Only six months go they went there and their life could not be more perfect. Business was going well, Alex was seven months pregnant and Jack was at that brilliant age when he wants to question everything, life could not have been more perfect. A few weeks later, their blissfully happy life got turned on its head when they learned about Jack's condition.

The last reason we were out there was to attend a press conference which was set up at our hotel to make a special announcement. The Joiningjack team are entering a team into the prestigious Dubai vets tournament in December. Let me tell you, we are bringing the big boys to Dubai and intend winning the tournament. Robinson, Sculthorpe, Betts, Connolly, Cassidy, Paul brothers, Offiah, Hampson amongst others. There was gasps around the room as the big names from both codes were announced. Shaun Edwards who was out there with us read out the teams and gave a brief bio into the players careers.
The best way that we can raise awareness is to win the competition and with the competitive nature of the people involved, we will take some beating.

It is hard to get people to buy into the fact that we were out in Dubai working hard. We had two hours one afternoon when we could sit by a pool. The rest of the time was spent meeting business people and gathering support for the campaign. I am pleased to say that we absolutely smashed Dubai. We were transparent in our objectives, we were honest in our statements and we were driven and committed to the charity. Over the coming weeks, some exciting things will be announced that will show that we mean business

Andy and I were joined in Dubai by Alex and the kids, Jack and James, Gary Connolly, Andrew Farrell, Shaun Edwards and Stuart Green from Bd2 who documented the events.
Meeting with the boys again and chatting about the glory days was awesome. It never leaves you. You may not see each other for a few years but when you walk into a room and make eye contact with a former team mate, it's like you have never been apart. Shaun looked like Rab C Nesbitt in Benidorm as he entered the room in Wales Rugby Union shorts, a white vest and Crocs on his feet. The banter soon began and the stories were flowing. If you could sell tickets to a fan for that afternoon of stories and reminiscing, you would sell twenty thousand easily. It was pretty cool to be sat there with these guys again, it was just unfortunate that the circumstances that lead to the reunion were so heartbreaking.

It really hit home to me how desperate Aj and Alex' s situation is  whilst spending a few days with them. Away from the events and cameras, you see a normal family that should not be going through this . Every little thing I saw affected me and I am not afraid to admit that I cried on numerous occasions. Seeing Alex swimming with her little boy who is unaware of what the next few years has in store for him ripped my heart to pieces. Watching Jack fall asleep in the protection of his Daddies arms by the pool was an image I will never forget. AJ has shown qualities of a father that I admire so much. His dream life of six months ago will never be the same again unless we can all pull together and make things happen. Me and my high profile rugby friends don't have the answers but we will continue to throw everything we have into helping this family.

Even though the trip had gone better than we could have imagined, I was pretty downhearted on the way home. We raised a huge amount of cash and met some hugely influential people in Dubai but when AJ and Alex wake up this morning, their problems will still be the same. They have to dig deep into their soul to keep getting out of bed every morning and show strength that is unimaginable. I am with you both every step of the way and I am bringing everyone I know on this journey. Please keep believing.