Back in November my son was born with a Congenital Heart Disease called Fallots Tetralogy. Within 24 hrs of his birth, he was rushed to Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow and stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for a week - and made excellent progress with the amazing staff there. Originally the prognosis was good - after numerous hospital appointments, his first surgery was scheduled for February - and Christmas approached.

Two weeks before Christmas, Toby started getting exceptionally unsettled, and started having 'tet' spells (lack of oxygen causing agitation and black outs) and we had to rush to the local hospital. Immediately he was transferred back to Yorkhill Hospital - exactly a month after being discharged home the last time. His surgery was brought forward. On Christmas Eve, at 08:30, he went down for open heart surgery to correct a number of defects with his heart: to close a large hole in his heart, to insert a pulmonary value and to rebuild his pulmonary artery tree. The heart surgery was an amazing success, and although further complications have developed Toby continues to make unbelievable progress and will soon be home and no-one would know the difference. There are further surgeries in the future, but the largest hurdles have been overcome - and it is in no small part to the outstanding excellence of the staff at Yorkhill Children’s Hospital.

Back at Christmas, while all this was going on, my brother (Mike) and I discussed how we could go about fund raising for the Yorkhill charity. And he has come up with one of the most audacious challenges yet. Eight hardy souls from Ghekko in Macclesfield have stepped up and are going to take part in the Total Warrior event in The Lake District this August.

The brave folks are: John Cassidy, Michael Weaver, Stacey Mountford, Terry Potts, Liam Rowley Weaver, Cam Shaw, Mike Neillans and Ross Elliot. They will throw themselves into a 10k assault course with some absolutely mental obstacles - ranging from 4ft flames, electrified wires to 7ft walls to climb and more.

Dig deep and sponsor the (slightly unhinged) Ghekko Elite team in this totally insane (but absolutely worthwhile!) endeavour to raise money for one of the best specialist hospitals in the United Kingdom - it's only when the worst happens that you actually stop and realise what goes in Children’s Hospitals, and how much the people in them can change our lives.

As if all this isn't enough, John is doing a 60 mile cycle ride - from Manchester to Blackpool, on the 14th July!

Don't think these guys are mad? Then why not have a look at the Total Warrior course and see what you think!

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Update: 20th August

As if Total Warrior wasn't enough, Cam, John, Terry and Mike are going to attempt Tough Mudder (http://toughmudder.com/) in Cheshire  on the 5th and 6th of October.

Comeon', these guys must be certifiable - and must be worth putting a little bit more into the pot for!