September 2001 was when Helen became so ill that she had to stop work. Her kidneys had failed and within 6 weeks she was on dialysis. For some people dialysis is good, but in Helen's case it was a disaster and at the time that her cousin offered her a kidney our main concern was whether or not she was strong enough to have the transplant operation. By then, she had become so weaked by the dialysis that I was virtually carrying her everywhere. Fortunately for her, she was deemed strong enough and had her transplant operation in January 2003.

What we did not expect was the vaste quantity of medication she would have to take for the rest of her life and the severe side-effects of that medication. She now has increased levels of anxiety, loss of memory, tiredness and, worst of all, severe uric acid crystals concentration and arthritis in her hands and feet. She keeps very positive and we are both so grateful that she can live her life at 70% but she would be so much more fullfilled without these side-effects.

After the operation, Helen was transfered for on-going care to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, which is attached to the University medical faculty and is one of the world's leading transplant centres. Despite the fact that transplantation of organs always seems to make the news, it is grossly underfunded in the UK, which makes it even more of a marvel that Oxford has achieved the reputation that it has. I always wanted to be able to help them in a practical way and this cycling event gives me a small way of doing so. It will help them continue to develop solutions that will benefit thousands of people worldwide.It may be too late to help Helen but it isn't for the next generation of transplantees.

Please give what you can and please make sure that you are on the organ transplant register. It really can make a difference.