Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

Please read my friends story, you will see why I was motivated to run!

Let me introduce you to my fabulous 16 year old nephew Benjamin. A gorgeously handsome boy with a passion for good food, hanging out with his mates and mountain biking off road in and around Chippenham.  A pretty normal 16 year old, huh?

On Saturday 19 October 2013, Ben and his mum and dad's life came to an abrupt halt.  After feeling "under the weather" for a couple of days and putting it down to growing pains, he had a terrible night of back pain.  Suzi, his mum, insisted in the morning that he should go down to A&E to be checked out.

Various tests were done including blood tests.  Within just a few hours the worst was confirmed.  Ben had leukemia.

Four days later, just before chemo was due to start, almost unbelievably, the horrific events became worse.  Ben went down to surgery for a routine lumbar puncture and bone marrow biopsy amongst other procedures.  He walked from his bed to the trolley that took him down to surgery.  When he awoke from that procedure Ben had no feeling in his body from the chest down.  The cancer had spread into Ben's spinal cord.  An emergency operation followed to remove the tumour that had grown.

Tragically the trauma caused by the pressure of the tumour had damaged Ben's spinal cord.

Ben has been paralysed.

He turned 16 five days later.

So here we are a few months down the line since that fateful Saturday.  Ben is still in Bristol Royal Infirmary Children's Hospital undergoing intensive chemotherapy with a view to being transferred to a specialist spinal hospital once he has stabilised with the leukemia.

I cannot even try to imagine the pain and grief that Ben, Suzi and Sam have had to endure over the last few months and will continue to endure in the months and maybe years ahead.  They are however an incredibly close family and the strength and maturity that Ben has shown has been truly incredible.

Apart from family, friends and hospital staff there has been one source of support that Ben, Suzi and Sam are eternally grateful to. That is CLIC Sargent.

CLIC is a charity that cares for children with cancer providing support for their families at home and in hospital.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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.