Hi Andrew (M.D.) Writing

 Well we did it! 62 miles of very hilly and beautiful  Isle of Wightcountryside on Sunday. (4th May)

 I even managed a respectable time – set off at 10.15 a few 10 minute check points ½ an hour at lunch time and back in Cowes just before 5. Very enjoyable and I intend to keep it up ... cycling that is.

 My legs, and backside were ok afterwards as well (mega padded shorts helped) Everyone in our group managed to get round ok , though there were one or two who had a bit of a weight disadvantage! There were also a few, who, with their good iron bikes worked very, very hard and pushed themselves to finish. Bloody well done team.

Except for ... Mr "Wisdom tooth extraction infection"... you know who you are!  At least your commitment and heart are in the right place. Plus it gives us an opportunity to string our campaign on a bit longer! I understand that round the island "part 2"  ... just for you, will take place at the end of May – good on you!

Anyway, if you sponsored us – very many thanks . It is very much appreciated, Debbie and supporters were there on Sunday and she was really grateful for everyone’s effort. And many thanks for your words of encouragement as well.... tremendous.

 If you hadn’t sponsored and would like to then it’s not too late, just do it NOW please.

 All the very best

Andrew

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 One of our original e-mail pleas follows now ...

There is nothing like a bit of a nudge from one’s colleagues, together with a very good cause to stimulate a little action! ....... Starting with a bit of time to tap out this plea.

We are Fundraising for the Southampton Adult Cystic Fibrosis Department, based on C level ofSouthamptonGeneralHospital. ...Here’s how and why?

We are a group of about 15 colleagues and business friends from M12 Solutions and your support will help us to cycle 62 miles around theIsle of Wight! We will be doing this as part of the Isle of Wight Randonee (http://www.cycleisland.co.uk) which is on the 4 May. The money raised will be mainly used to improve the quality of lives of those Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients spending a great amount of time in hospital and especially those who are unlikely to be helped so much by medical research.

This cause is close to home, we have a business friend and colleague Allan  Packer,(Allan has brought in much of our new business through the last 4 years). His wife Debbie, has CF. To set the scene of why we want to raise money, here is the story of her most recent stay in hospital:

Debbie was admitted to hospital on a Friday for a 2 week course of treatment. As usual she was kept in isolation. This meant she was in a room by herself for 24 hours a day. The TV in the room didn’t work, the Patientline in her room didn’t work also, she was therefore reliant on a laptop for entertainment and to help alleviate the boredom. Unfortunately, because of a lack of funds, the internet connection is terrible and the wireless keeps going down. The laptops are extremely old and very unreliable. Debbie, however is one of the lucky ones. She gets visitors most days, Allan, spends much of his time when he's there trying to get the laptop and wireless back up and running. Other patients they have had contact with in this department have not been so lucky. Some will be in isolation for up to 3 months or more, plus their family members may live over 100 miles away making only weekend visits possible. We understand it can be a very depressing and an isolated environment to be in. Plus Patientline calls, when working, are notoriously expensive.

These are the plans, for the donations we receive:

Install a Windows Media Server, a new high speed wireless network, with new, good quality internet connections and new laptops. This will provide patients with decent internet access and importantly a free method of communication with their families! Via Skype type phone services. It will also provide them with on demand music and television free of charge. This will make a huge difference to maintaining the sanity of many of the patients who endure long stays with little contact.

Other areas we hope money will be used includes; for example, providing some funds for the “qualifying relatives” of extremely sick or dying patients to travel and stay near to the hospital. As mentioned earlier, some of the patients are admitted from areas from a long way distant!

Also It's worth remembering that fund raising for the research for a cure to CF is a good cause, however Debbie’s situation has highlighted a real need at the hospital, which, with your help we think we can really improve the quality of life for those with later stage CF.

I do hope you can be generous, please click on the link and donate.

 Very best regards,