I am taking part in the 2016 Dartmoor Cycle challenge.  For me, it will be 67 miles across Dartmoor.  I have never cycled 67 miles before, and certainly not up and down across the moors.  I love Dartmoor and I am enjoying cycling again - let's see if this is still the case after 67 miles!

My chosen charity for the challenge is the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.  Children deserve the best start in life, and when things don't work out perfectly they rely on facilities such as NICU to help them.  The NICU provides a well established
service for infants born in the south west peninsula.  Specialist medical treatment provides 12 intensive / high dependency cot spaces, 10
special care cots and 16 transitional care cots.

Our daughter spent the first week of her life in NICU, and the memory and images remain with me to this day.  I remember sitting next to the incubator for hours on end and through the darkness of night.  Just hoping.  Sitting there in silence watching our daughter's every breath.  Unable to hold and cuddle, but hoping that sometime soon that time would come.  I remember the day that I was allowed to open one of the ports on the incubator and hold Holly's hand.

I remember the wonderful staff in the NICU and all the electronic wizardry beeping and flashing.

I'm not sure what would have happened without the staff and facilities at NICU, but I do know that we have since had 14 wonderful years with a loving, caring daughter, and will have many more years to come.

I hope that in some small way I can provide additional funding to NICU to enable them to give others the best possible start to their lives.

Please feel free to pass these details on to others.

Donations, however large or small, pennies or pounds would be welcome.  Every penny helps to provide better facilities. 

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Many thanks for your support

Paul