10 years ago, we lost 2 fantastic team members, David Acott from King’s Children’s and Andrew Strachan from King’s Adults. They, along with others we have lost, are always in our hearts, and will always be a part of #TeamKings.

This year, in honour of these 2 special men, I am taking on the ‘Walk 300,000 Steps in July’ challenge for the King’s Children’s Transplant Team!

I do not usually walk 10,000 steps a day, so it will definitely be a challenge for me to keep it up for the whole month, but I am determined to honour our memories of David and Andrew, and hope to raise funds to help more King’s children & young adults attend the British Transplant Games in 2026.

My family & our involvement with King’s and the Games -

At 8 weeks old, my son was diagnosed with Alagille Syndrome at King’s College Hospital. Liver disease is just one part of the syndrome, and for him it was the worst part. He had failure to thrive, and severe itch that disturbed every part of his life, and at 14 months old he was listed for a liver transplant. At 22 months old he received the gift of a new liver, thanks to the generosity of an organ donor and their family.

A transplant is a treatment, not a cure, and recipients usually take lifelong medications, need frequent bloods and, often, other procedures too. There can be other complications, sometimes exacerbated by the medications they have to take. Transplants can leave more than just physical scars.

We saw a poster about the British Transplant Games at the hospital and decided to go and see what it was all about. We went a couple of times and weren’t sure it was for us, and then we returned a few years later – caught the bug - and have been going every year since.

The friends we have made at the Games have become our second family. There is a shorthand when meeting other families that understand, who have been on / are still on, similar journeys. When my son needed a second transplant at age 19, they were there to support us, and when we returned to the Games the following summer it was an (even greater) emotional reunion and celebration of life.

The Games also help us celebrate the two donors and donor families who saved my son’s life.

I became involved in running parties at King’s for fellow liver families to meet, have fun, and form friendships, and then got involved in the management of the Children’s team. Since the 2014 Games in Bolton, I have met and managed, 64 children and young people who have had transplants and/or follow up care at King’s – and this year we have another 5 new children joining the team, taking that total up to 69. We have stuck with the principles of fun and friendship, and our families form support networks that stretch far beyond the Games.

The costs of attending the Games increases every year, and the team raise funds to help families afford to attend and gain all the support it can provide.

If you are able to support and encourage me, and help more families experience the Games, please sponsor me – thank you so much.

(At the risk of breaking copyright rules ‘every little helps!’)

Fundraising for the British Transplant Games Fund D2338.