On 1 June 2013 I am taking part in the City to Summit Ironman http://www.ratracecitytosummit.com/ (18 hours to complete a 2.5 mile swim in the Firth of Forth followed by a 180km bike ride through the Scottish Highlands & finishing with a marathon up and back down Ben Nevis ... the total height gained over the course of the event being the equivalent of climbing a 6,000m mountain) in memory of a very special little girl- the daughter of one of my closest friends- Anna Lucy Mary Lewis.

Anna was born on 9 February 2011. She was a healthy, happy baby before she became ill on 19 January 2012. On 16 March, Anna was diagnosed with Alpers' Disease, a rare Mitochondrial Disease for which there is no treatment, or cure. She was in hospital for almost 11 weeks before she died, aged 14 months, on 1 April 2012.

Anna received wonderful, loving care in her last few weeks of life at Great Ormond Street Hospital, for which her family and friends will always be so grateful. The entire team at GOSH made what was such a difficult time for Anna much easier to bear.

The Mitochondrial Research Group at GOSH is working to identify the genetic causes for Mitochondrial Disease and to identify possible treatments. Without its expertise, Anna's diagnosis would never have been possible. We have asked for all donations to this page to go to the Mitochondrial Research Group so that in the future there may be treatments or even a cure available for this most cruel of diseases.

If you would like to make a donation in Anna's memory, please click on the Donate button and, if you're a tax payer, please consider adding Gift Aid to your donation.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.