Hi,

I have just riden 75 miles around the whole of the Isle of Wight on a bicycle  in order to raise money for a very special hospital (Great Ormond Street).

I had around 4 weeks to train and have not been on a bike for several years.

Tough is not the word I would use to express how hard this challenge was...

Extremely hard work in the rain, hill after hill after hill...4,500 feet of hills in total!!!

The only thing that kept me going was the thought of Rosie's little face and how strong despite all the operations she has had to date.

I didn't mention anything about this event previously as I wasn't sure if i would even make 30 miles, however I didn't want to give up easily, and I am so pleased I managed to complete the whole 75 miles in 5 and half hours!!

Although a little sore in places....I will get over it, but the hospital and children need as much help as possible, hence you donating what ever you can spare.

If each and everyone of you that I have contacted can please dig deep and give what you can then it will be so gladly appreciated!!

My beautiful niece Rosie, is now home safe after having 12 operations in Great Ormond Street Hospital..Please help by donating and help me raise as much money as possible. Here is Rosie's story written by her dad Mark.....On the 11th Jan 2012, our beautiful, identical twin girls, Ivy (5 pounds 4) and Rosie (5 pounds 1) were delivered at University College Hospital, London. We had found out at our 12 week scan, that one of our twins, Rosie, had a condition called large exomphalos. After speaking with a neonatal consultant it was explained to us that this was an abdominal wall defect in which the intestines, liver and occasionally other organs remain outside the tummy in a sac because of a defect in the development of the muscles of the abdominal wall. This condition occurs in 2 out of 10,000 births and is associated with a higher rate of mortality (25%), and severe malformations such as cardiac anomalies (50%) and neural tube defect (40%). Approximately 15% of live born infants born with exomphalos have chromosomal abnormalities. As Rosie grew in the womb it was confirmed that her liver and most of her bowel was growing outside of her tummy. Jo my wife was scanned every two weeks throughout the pregnancy to check for further abnormalities. We were also given the option to find out through invasive testing whether or not the twins did have chromosomal problems, (i.e. Down’s syndrome or Trisomy 10 or 13 which would sadly mean the girls would survive for only a short while). We decided to hold off on these tests until 30 weeks to give the girls the best chance of survival should the tests bring on early delivery. However, at 30 weeks with no obvious signs of further complications for Rosie and with Ivy seeming perfect we chose not to proceed with the test and decided that whatever the outcome we would cope. At 30 weeks Jo was scanned once a week and at this point we met a surgeon from the team at Great Ormond Street that explained the procedure to treat Rosie’s condition. We also were given a tour of University College Hospital, where Jo would give birth and Great Ormond Street where Rosie would be transferred to on delivery. Rosie and Ivy were doing great and growing nicely and at 37 weeks Jo delivered the girls by c section. 45 minutes after Rosie was born, and following a quick cuddle with Mum, she was transferred with me by ambulance to Great Ormond Street Neo Natal intensive care. At two days old Rosie had her first operation to start to put her liver and bowel back into her tummy. This was the first of many operations over 3 months. (The organs have to be gently eased back into the tummy as they are too big to be replaced at once). After one week in intensive care and a number of small tucks, Rosie was doing well and was transferred to high dependency Squirrel Ward. At the end of Jan and on her fourth procedure the doctors decided she could tolerate her final close, which took place on the 31st January. Unfortunately, following the operation Rosie developed an infection that caused her tummy to reopen and due to the added pressure in her abdomen her left lung collapsed. Rosie was kept alive by ventilator for two days and we were very concerned that we might lose her. However the little fighter came through it with the great care given to her by the nurses and a number of different antibiotics to treat the infection. She was also given physiotherapy to help her left lung to recover. 10 Days later Rosie left intensive care and returned to Squirrel Ward where she went on to have further operations to put her liver and bowel back in. On the 21st March 2012 Rosie had her 12th operation and second close which she tolerated well. She really is quite amazing. During the time Rosie was in hospital she also underwent various tests and checks including brain scans, heart scans, and x-rays to check for any other associated chromosomal abnormalities. Thankfully, it was confirmed that Rosie didn’t have any further complications. Up until now Rosie has been fed intravenously with TPN through a line that went into a vessel above her heart and some of the time by breast and bottle. Due to the nature of her condition feeding is still an issue as her digestive system needs to settle down after so much surgery. Finally on the 5th April 2012, we were able to take our little Rosie home. She still has an NG tube fitted down her nose to her tummy which allows us to top up her feeds, as she can only tolerate a small amount by bottle on her own. Once she is able to take full feeds and has gained more weight this tube will come out. Rosie will be an outpatient at Great Ormond St Hospital until she is six years old so that doctors can monitor her health. Rosie has been lucky, she has been in the best children’s hospital in the world. Her wonderful Surgeon Mr De Coppi, from day one, carefully planned, operated and slowly saw Rosie on the road to recovery. She has been cared for by nurses that really are the closest thing you’ll ever find to Angels. Every day they made me feel that Rosie was the most important little girl in the world. I have no doubt that this hospital, together with its staff saved our little Rosie’s life. What’s more, Great Ormond Street didn’t just take great care of Rosie but also supported us by providing us with a room to stay in just across the road for the duration of Rosie’s stay in hospital. To do something to say thank you for looking after Rosie and to give a little something back to Great Ormond Street Charity, I am cycling with 9 other lads 100k around the Isle of Wight on Sunday 6th May. We hope, with your help, we can raise some money for this wonderful hospital to allow them to continue to help so many children and families in so many ways.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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...anything you can spare will so gladly be appreciated! x