Many of you will know that one of my mottos in life has long been 'I don't do running'.  However, several of my friends run and have completed the Coventry Half Marathon for the last 3 years, and 10 weeks ago they convinced me to take part in this year's event. On the 10th August I began my training with a run of 2 whole miles, my furthest run previously being a distance of 'to the car' and even then only if it was raining and I'd just had my hair done.  I decided that in order to spur me on on the day I would raise funds for a worthy cause.  It was not difficult to pick Birmingham Children's Hospital as it is a cause which is close to the hearts of all of my family.  My cousin Katie was born with one unformed kidney and the other only partially working and was on the waiting list for a transplant from birth.  Throughout her early years she spent a lot of time at the Children's Hospital for various check-ups and finally underwent a kidney transplant at the age of 6.  She continued to attend the hospital for regular check-ups throughout her childhood and then for dialysis as a teenager when her 'new' kidney began to fail.  Katie is still on dialysis and waiting for another transplant.  Throughout all of this, Katie has always been bubbly, full of life and laughs and doesn't let things get her down.  BCH are currently trying to raise £1.5 million for a new kidney unit to provide better facilities for its patients.  Katie feels a new facility is badly needed, particularly for dialysis patients as the current unit doesn't even have any natural daylight - not a fun place to spend 4hrs twice a week hooked up to dialysis machines.

Please, please give whatever you can to help raise funds for this worthy cause to help me and my family to begin to say 'thank you' for the fantastic care that Katie has received from the staff at BCH.  

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Birmingham Children's Hospital Charities gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!