Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As you may be aware, my 10 year old son Louis was born with Congenital Heart Disease, a condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Louis has had open heart surgery operations, the first at 10 days old, the second at 5 months and the third just before his 4th birthday. Each operation was carried out at Southampton General Hospital by surgeon Marcus Haw and consultant Tony Salmon. Everyone on E1 Ocean Ward at the hospital did a fantastic job of making Louis's stay as comfortable as possible. His condition is not correctable and at some time in the future he may  need a heart transplant.

Currently there is a children's cardiac ward at Southampton General Hospital but at the age of 12 any admitted children will go into the adult cardiac ward.

I have decided to raise money for the Young Adult Cardiac Ward Appeal which was officially launched by the Wessex Cardiac Trust (Wessex Heartbeat), in June 2009. The aim is to raise £1.2million to establish a purpose built Young Adult Cardiac Unit adjacent to the current children’s ward. The new facility will provide a seamless transition from the children’s ward (E1/Ocean Ward) to the adjacent new development (E2 Ward).

This obviously means a lot to me and Steve as Louis will no doubt be visiting the ward over the next few years.

So what is the Ben Nevis challenge?

Well on 14th August 2009, I will be attempting to climb to the peak of Ben Nevis with three friends. For someone who struggles to walk the dog and is scared of heights climbing 4406 ft and getting back down again is a bit of a challenge. However it is a challenge I am relishing and inbetween glasses of wine I am training hard. Honest!

I appreciate that econonic times are tough but hopefully you will be able to donate some money towards this very deserving charity.

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.

Thank you

Jackie Moody