Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Some of you may, or may not have known my sister, Annalise, but she unfortunately passed away in October 2009. If I were to put on a brave face I’d say I’m doing well, but obviously I miss her dearly, and nothing is ever going to be the same.

Even though her life wasn’t as long as most, she enjoyed it very much, even though she was in pain, which she suffered from continually. Many people helped her through this pain, whilst others gave her pleasure though helping her with things she enjoyed.

Anna had many hospital appointments at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), along with a few operations and a long term stay on their MCU ward. She was always treated well, and made many friends with the staff, not just other patients along with their families, (some of which we are still in close contact with). Although Doctors couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong with my sister, they helped her, and made her life as bearable as possible.

In 2010, I cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity along with two other charities that helped Annalise through her difficult times.

I didn't do this amazing trip alone as a friend was kind enough to volunteer to do this with me.

As this was a  once in a lifetime trip, we didn't race and do in within a week or something crazy! We set realistic aims met them taking 16 days to do the whole trip!  Being students we wanted to keep the costs down to an absolute minimum so we camped through the whole trip. 

We were really lucky to receive almost £900 in sponsorship and know that the money was of such value to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity and I know that they will have used it very wisely.  GOSHCC have just completed a major part of the redevelopment of the hospital and can now treat 20% more children like my sister who have life limiting and life threatening illnesses. The re-build of two thirds of the hospital has given everyone the space they need, making cramped, outdated wards a thing of the past. 

They also fund research and state of the art equipment.  The research is leading the way, discovering and developing treatments for complex medical conditions. 

Often specialist tools are needed in order to carry out the complex operations and sadly they are expensive, GOSHCC invest in only the best equipment. 

The powerful presence of siblings and parents helps children recover. With all of the kind donations we received, GOSH are able to provide more beds for parents so they can be on hand to give hugs at any time of day or night. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.