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Wow!!!!!

We did it. At 07.30 Sunday 27th September the whole team crossed the finish line completing the challenge in 23 hours 30 minutes. We climbed Ben Nevis in daylight, Scafell Pike in semi darkness reraching the summit in pitch black and then Snowden during the early hours of Sunday morning in darkness with low cloud, fog and drizzle. Visability was no more than 10 feet. Of the 3 teams that set off that day ours was the only one to complete the challenge. 

Apart from some sore legs and knees we all escaped uninjured and although pretty gruelling it was overwhelmingly a fantastic experience.

Have a look at the attached pictures to see how we got on.

As a group we have now raised in excess of £6,500 for Above & Beyond Charities and the money is still coming in! We're really pleased with the money raised and I really appreciate your kind donations that have helped us to achieve this amount.

A warm thnak you to you all also for the kind words of encouragment and apologies to those of you who thought I wouldn't make it back alive.

Why did we do it? To raise funds for St. Michaels Neo-Natal Intensive Care department in Bristol which relies massively on public support and donations to save 100's of lives every year.

My son Louis was born on 4th October 2008 at St Michaels at 26 weeks gestation although he was little more than 24 weeks developed. He weighed in at 653 grms (1lb 7ozs). One of the doctors had co-incidentally 12 hours before he was born given him <5% chance of survival.

Louis remained in hospital for nearly 5 months in intensive care and high dependency whilst the doctors and nurses looked after him, resuscitating him regularly from the very beginning and then less as time went on. With their fantastic work and dedication, and cutting a very long, stressful and painful story short Louis was finally able to come home whilst being continually monitored.  After just one week at home he was back at hospital for surgery having become quite ill with a hernia. Since then he has remained at home with his brothers and continues to go from strength to strength. He continues to gain weight and is now (early Sep) about 6kilos (13lbs). Of course, this is not quite the end of the story as he needs to be closely monitored and and his development checked for some time by the staff at St. Michaels. Louis has been an extraordinary baby and has battled through so much in his first few months.

St Michaels Neo-Natal unit covers the entire S West of the UK and cares for the poorliest new born babies from Gloucester to Cornwall and S Wales. They look after 100's of babies every year and so much of this is only made possible by donation. Unbelievably the NHS Trust only pays for staff and overhead costs. All equipment and other costs must be met through donation.

The Above and Beyond charity ensures that every penny raised goes directly to the unit for spending on the equipment that they need. 

BY SUPPORTING ME IN THIS FOOLISH ENDEAVOUR YOU WILL BE DIRECTLY  BENEFITING MANY 100'S OF BABIES THAT WILL GO THROUGH ST. MICHAELS IN THE FUTURE JUST AS LOUIS HAS SO CLEARLY BENFITTED FROM THE GENEROSITY OF OTHERS IN THE PAST. 

I should just mention that those of you who know me well will realise that I am overweight, unfit and will also be the oldest member of the team to attempt this challenge so I will be really earning whatever support you can kindly give. 

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Above & Beyond 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.

Thank you so much in advance!

Please sponsor me now!