Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. The five of us (Team Donkey) will be taking on a 24 hour relay endurance running challenge called Equinox24 at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. The aim is to run the 10k loop around the castle as many times as possible over 24 hours, while sleep deprived. Oh and did I mention we’re camping! For each of us this will be a huge challenge, whether our individual aims are to cover 20k or 60k each.

In doing this challenge we would like to raise money for the Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation. The PPBF has two flats in Southampton next door to the two main hospitals. My husband and I stayed in one of these flats for 5 weeks while my son was in ICU before he was transferred back to the PEH in Guernsey after being born very premature and very poorly - the peace of mind and a home away from home this gave us really cannot be underestimated. What you may not know is that when not in use by parents of premature babies the Foundation generously lets anyone in need stay in either flat. Recently friends of ours spent six months in one of the flats while their 8 year old daughter was having treatment for leukaemia. They also helped out my colleague Clara who stayed in one of the the flats recently when her partner was going into Southampton hospital for an indefinite period of time to await a liver transplant. She had this to say: “My partner suffers from a complication of illnesses including blood cancer and, as a result, it made finding support very difficult. Having nowhere to stay, the Foundation very kindly offered me their flat to use whilst it was empty and I was able to stay there for 9 days. This took a huge weight off my shoulders in terms of finding a place to live and also enabled my partner to get out of his hospital bed and have a taste of normality. We will be forever grateful!”

The flats really are essential for the Guernsey community. The PPBF never charges occupants but they do cost a lot to run each year which is why I continue to fundraise as much as I can for them. All costs of the entering and travelling to the event have been covered by the team so all donations go directly to the charity.

If you’ve gotten to the end of this long story thank you, it means a lot to me. 

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