Laura Cwiklinski
The Big Six 2017-18
Fundraising for Little Hearts Matter
Story
Hi all,
Sometimes, the words 'thank you' don't even begin to convey the depth of gratitude that you feel. They just don't hit the mark. That's how I feel every time I say thank you to the amazing team who work tirelessly to keep my eldest son, Lewis (9) alive.
Lewis has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a life-limiting complex congenital heart disease which cannot be cured or fixed. He also has only one functioning Lung. The life expectancy of children with this condition is much shorter than any parent would ever wish for. It's shorter than I really want to think about. Without surgical intervention his condition is fatal, and requires a lifetime of drugs, operations, procedures and palliative care.
Lewis has an amazing team of professionals around him who keep him breathing, keep him living, and keep him smiling. No amount of 'thank you' can ever compensate for that.
Here is our story. It's a short video which explains the journey, my motivation & my inspiration to undertake such a huge challenge. Please be aware that this video contains post surgical images:
http://animoto.com/play/iB0iainzRX60GBgWBy6aDQ
I want to raise funds, because funds help with research. This is vital in this field, as there are currently no known cures for CHDs & there is no known cause of CHDs either. Yet CHD continues to be the most prevalent birth defect, and the biggest cause of death in infants.
Little Hearts Matter support families of children with single ventricle heart defects, through antenatal diagnosis, through life, and through bereavement. LHM fights for the rights of the affected children and their families, and does huge amounts of work to raise awareness of childrens heart defects. LHM has been a huge source of support, information, and inspiration since I've been in contact with them. They're not government funded, and rely solely on public donations. I feel that I'd like to pay something back.
This time around, my kids want to get involved, so I've selected six challenges that they can achieve, aswell as the usual six crazy challenges that I can complete (and hopefully rope others into too!).
The BIG Six:
* Coniston End to End - a 5.25mile open water endurance swim from one end of Lake Coniston to the other.
* Tough Mudder North West - 13 mile muddy trail with lots of assault course obstacles that are designed to test your stamina, determination & mental grit.
* The Big ChillSwim - A 30m swim in the icy waters of Lake Windermere, in the middle of winter. No wetsuits allowed.
* Chester Marathon - A 26.2 mile run along the streets, bridges and monuments in the beautiful city of Chester
* National Three Peaks 24 hour challenge - Scale the summits of Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowden within 24 hours.
* London Hospital to Liverpool Hospital - To cover the 210 mile distance from the two hospitals that jointly share Lewis' medical care. This will be completed over 6 days, making it just over a marathon a day!
The LITTLE Six
* Dirty Dozen 1km Adventure Trail Run
* 1 mile Colour Run
* Chatsworth House Music Mile
* Northwich Parkrun 2km challenge
* 50m unaided swim
* 5km Glow in the Park challenge
If you would like to support our challenge, you can do so by sponsoring me. You can visit my fundraising page at:
http://www.justgiving.com/TheBigSix2017
You can also donate by texting BIIG66 £x to 70070 (replacing the x with £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) via Vodafones JustTextGiving service. It's free to use, the sum is added to your next phone bill, and 100% of the donation goes to the charity. Please dig deep and help to spur me on to achieve this huge challenge!
You can also follow my progress via my blog on Facebook. We don't have to be connected as the page is a public page. It journals the nutrition, the training, the events, the fears, the blood, sweat and tears, the highs and lows; a candid insight into this journey.
www.Facebook.com/LaurasBigSix
Thank you xx
Sometimes, the words 'thank you' don't even begin to convey the depth of gratitude that you feel. They just don't hit the mark. That's how I feel every time I say thank you to the amazing team who work tirelessly to keep my eldest son, Lewis (9) alive.
Lewis has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a life-limiting complex congenital heart disease which cannot be cured or fixed. He also has only one functioning Lung. The life expectancy of children with this condition is much shorter than any parent would ever wish for. It's shorter than I really want to think about. Without surgical intervention his condition is fatal, and requires a lifetime of drugs, operations, procedures and palliative care.
Lewis has an amazing team of professionals around him who keep him breathing, keep him living, and keep him smiling. No amount of 'thank you' can ever compensate for that.
Here is our story. It's a short video which explains the journey, my motivation & my inspiration to undertake such a huge challenge. Please be aware that this video contains post surgical images:
http://animoto.com/play/iB0iainzRX60GBgWBy6aDQ
I want to raise funds, because funds help with research. This is vital in this field, as there are currently no known cures for CHDs & there is no known cause of CHDs either. Yet CHD continues to be the most prevalent birth defect, and the biggest cause of death in infants.
Little Hearts Matter support families of children with single ventricle heart defects, through antenatal diagnosis, through life, and through bereavement. LHM fights for the rights of the affected children and their families, and does huge amounts of work to raise awareness of childrens heart defects. LHM has been a huge source of support, information, and inspiration since I've been in contact with them. They're not government funded, and rely solely on public donations. I feel that I'd like to pay something back.
This time around, my kids want to get involved, so I've selected six challenges that they can achieve, aswell as the usual six crazy challenges that I can complete (and hopefully rope others into too!).
The BIG Six:
* Coniston End to End - a 5.25mile open water endurance swim from one end of Lake Coniston to the other.
* Tough Mudder North West - 13 mile muddy trail with lots of assault course obstacles that are designed to test your stamina, determination & mental grit.
* The Big ChillSwim - A 30m swim in the icy waters of Lake Windermere, in the middle of winter. No wetsuits allowed.
* Chester Marathon - A 26.2 mile run along the streets, bridges and monuments in the beautiful city of Chester
* National Three Peaks 24 hour challenge - Scale the summits of Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowden within 24 hours.
* London Hospital to Liverpool Hospital - To cover the 210 mile distance from the two hospitals that jointly share Lewis' medical care. This will be completed over 6 days, making it just over a marathon a day!
The LITTLE Six
* Dirty Dozen 1km Adventure Trail Run
* 1 mile Colour Run
* Chatsworth House Music Mile
* Northwich Parkrun 2km challenge
* 50m unaided swim
* 5km Glow in the Park challenge
If you would like to support our challenge, you can do so by sponsoring me. You can visit my fundraising page at:
http://www.justgiving.com/TheBigSix2017
You can also donate by texting BIIG66 £x to 70070 (replacing the x with £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) via Vodafones JustTextGiving service. It's free to use, the sum is added to your next phone bill, and 100% of the donation goes to the charity. Please dig deep and help to spur me on to achieve this huge challenge!
You can also follow my progress via my blog on Facebook. We don't have to be connected as the page is a public page. It journals the nutrition, the training, the events, the fears, the blood, sweat and tears, the highs and lows; a candid insight into this journey.
www.Facebook.com/LaurasBigSix
Thank you xx