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I have stepped up to the challenge of taking on Mount Kilimanjaro in February 2012 in support of Great Ormond Street Hospital, and more specifically the Gastroenterology department - to raise funds for a new research project into understanding the genetic causes and improving therapies for infant inflammatory bowel disease. The new developments will allow the team to continue to provide the world-class standard of care expected from Great Ormond Street Hospital.

I am under no illusion - this WILL be a challenge for me, for three main reasons:

1) I'm not quite the sporty individual that I used to be in my teenage years (as my 'love handles' clearly show) - 77km will test me for sure!

2) I'm not great with heights, and remembering back to my Geography A-level, I'm pretty sure that Mount Kilimanjaro is quite high up (5,895m to be precise)

3) I'm not looking forward to the prospect of being away from my two daughters and wife for 11 days (they may not share this opinion of course!)

 

Despite this, I can't wait to get on the plane to Africa...so why am I doing this?

 

Some of you will know that a couple of years ago my eldest daughter (Charlotte) was taken into hospital with chronic stomach and back pains and spent the next two weeks suffering in hospital and being tested and scanned for all manner of things.

 

After our local hospital was unable to diagnose the problems, Charlotte was eventually referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, and it was only then that we started to get answers to what was going on. Within the first five minutes of our first appointment the consultant (Dr Neil Shah - who incidentally will also be on the trip) had grasped what the issue was and we started to feel that we were making headway.

 

It took a couple of months to really get to the bottom of it, with Charlotte undergoing a colonoscopy and endoscopy at GOSH - an unpleasant experience for such a young girl (she was just coming up to 3 at the time). We had a nervous period waiting for biopsy results to come back, not really knowing what to expect. Eventually, Charlotte was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Colitis (an Eosinophilic Gastro-Intestinal Disorder or EGID). There is currently no known cure for EGID, however dietary measures and/or medication can help.

 

Fortunately, as far as Charlotte is concerned it is a relatively mild case and although she was still unwell for periods over the next couple of months with the help of GOSH we were eventually able to find the right balance of medication to manage the situation. Charlotte is still on the medication two years down the line and has a partially restricted diet, however we feel lucky as there are children with much more severe cases which seriously impacts their quality of life (some having to be tube-fed with the obvious knock-on effects to their ability to attend school and enjoy a normal childhood).

 

When our second daughter (Olivia) was born we noticed similar problems, but knowing the signs this time round meant that we were able to jump on the issue early without her suffering like Charlotte did. Olivia's condition is not identical to Charlotte's but is still EGID related, and thankfully again it is something that is controlled by medication.

 

I'd like to think that the money I help to raise will enable GOSH to further its research and work in this area so that further developments can be made to help improve the quality of life for those children who really suffer from EGID.

 

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.

 

Officially, I have to state that " I am participating in a trek to raise funds for the benefit of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. I have guaranteed to raise at least £3,950 for the charity, of which approx 50% will be used to pay the costs of my flight and accommodation". However, between 'my girls' and me we will cover the equivalent cost of my flight and accommodation so you can be sure that whatever you donate will benefit the charity directly. I'm hoping to raise £4.5k and in total the wider group is hoping to hit £50k!

So, please donate what you can...