Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

 

I applied for the London Marathon in April and had to wait until October find out if I had been accepted. When my acceptance arrived I was excited and a bit apprehensive! Although I have completed several half marathons over the past two years this is the one that everyone talks about. I knew that it was an experience of a lifetime! 

 

I soon realised that I could use this opportunity to raise money for a charity - Birmingham Children's Hospital. A charity whose excellent work I was made aware of at my school where I work as a teacher.

 

In September a little boy called Cameron started in our Reception Class and he needed a kidney transplant. It made me realise how much we take things for granted and how many other children are out there waiting unable to have a normal life such as eating a bar of chocolate.

 

Cameron is very lucky to have an extremely supportive family and in December 2010 his father donated his kidney to Cameron. The operation was huge success and both father and son are doing well. They would not have been able to do this though without the help of Ward 1 at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

 

So although this marathon is a challenge for me and I have many hours of training still to come it would be fantastic to raise some money to help not only Cameron but other children like him. These children travel from all over the region, including Stoke, Northampton, Coventry and Mid-Wales. Five hour round trips to spend four hours a day, three or four days a week on a haemodialysis macine are common. This treatment cycle can last for many years until a suitable kidney donor is found. 

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.

I will be fundraising for Ward One.