Thanks for visiting my fundraising page. 

On the 7^th September, all being well, we will set off to ride from Lands End to John O’Groats on our bicycles. It is our intention to complete the ride in under two weeks providing all goes to plan, this will equate to roughly 85 miles per day, as you can imagine our back sides are going to know about this. and i expect to be working standing up for at least a month

We need your help in various ways firstly to donate as much as possible safe in the knowledge that we are paying the price for it.  We’ve set ourselves very ambitious targets because we know how generous you all are so please dig deep for this very important cause.

As many of you know we have all bought some fantastic gear and all look like extras from Little Britain!!! Our wives have suggested we should have just given the money we spent on bikes to charity and saved ourselves the pain, but as we know that isn’t the point. Hopefully we are ready for the big challenge?  That’s why we named this ride, ‘All the Gear – No Idea’.

Why am I doing it? 

Well 2 of our friends recently lost their children during pregnancy, here are some words from them to explain

Thanks for visiting this page....if it only makes you aware of the great work that 'tiny lives' does then that's great. 

we are trying to raise funds for 'tiny lives' not only is it a worthy cause but also to make the brief life of Millie Rose positive for others as well as ourselves. Millie Rose Chitsabesan was stillborn 19.50 23/03/10 weighing 1lb 10 ounces and just 27 weeks old.  It's amazing how someone 'minus 13weeks' old can touch the lives of so many.  She burst onto the scene in September 2009 and showed herself to be a very stubborn and active little girl.  They could never get a good picture of her as she was always on the move or had her arm in the way in every picture of her face.  She had her daddy's big feet and hands and though she was really stubborn and beautiful.....just like her mum....things became a bit too much for her delicate body and she was unable to keep up the good fight.  Mum and Dad miss her very much and every second of the day.  She will always be a part of our family and will never be forgotten.

All the staff from the fetal and maternity services were amazing and supported us through these recent hard times.  The love and caring that these initial strangers shared with us was both humbling and greatly appeciated.  They always had the right word and the time for us.  We are enormously thankful for their continued support.

The Neonatal Service at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne looks after newborn babies from all over the north of England. They look after about 600 newborn babies every year, and up to 30 can be with them at any one time. Tiny Lives supports this work, providing:

Education and training

Funding for research

Specialist developmental care

A homely environment

Help with travel costs for parents

Expensive equipment

Thank you for all your support, kind words and love

Wendy and Chitz X 

 

 

Oscar was born at 10.20am on 6/2/10. His mum went into labour as we were waiting for our flight to London to go to the England Vs Wales Rugby match (Dad is an ex-rugby player for Torquay and Medicals). The labour came on very quickly and an ambulance ride and an hour later he was born. He was 14 weeks early and weighed just 1lb 14oz. Had we got on the plane just imagine what would have happened!

He was taken to the SCBU (Ward 35) at the RVI in Newcastle and over the week had many visitors coming in to see him. Some days he was better and some days he was worse- words cannot describe the roller coaster we were on. It was made so much worse as he was an IVF baby and it had taken us a long time to get this far.

After a week with us, little Oscar died on 12/2/10 in his Mum and Dads arms- he was just too ill and too tiny to fight for his life.

What made our time with Oscar incredible was the staff in the unit. I have never had such heart felt care and kindness in such a situation and they job they do is incredible. I have heard this so many times before but never really paid attention when people say it. Think about having to tell people your baby is going to die, taking photos for you, dressing the child ready for the funeral and supporting parents whose life has crashed around them- this unit deserves all the help they can get. We all have our pet charities and you never know what they do until you need them- but take it from me, this unit does an incredible job.

So- all I ask is instead of flowers or cards, or just if you want to- can you help me raise some money for the unit in memory of Oscar? I think this is the best tribute to the little man I can think of. 

Thanks so much. 

Stu & Helen

It goes without saying please help us raise as much as possible as, so we can push forward with research to stop the terrible loss of our loved ones.

In addition we are having a web site www.allthegearandnoidea.com where we will be posting photos over the next few months and details of all the companies that sponsor us. Should anyone want to have their company details or their associates displayed as a supporter on the site then feel free. During the event we will be using 2 BIG motorhomes which we intend to logo up with all our sponsors.

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