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.

Imagine an event that totally changes your life. An accident, the loss of a loved one or the happy time when you meet your soul mate. These events actually happen to us all.

But imagine if your first child is born with a brain disorder so rare that only three children in this country have it. The doctors don't undertsand it and tell you your child will not have a meaningful life, let alone walk or go to school. And that there is little they can do to help you.

My good friends Martin and Jo Andrews found themselves in this situation when their son, Sam, was slow to develop and after suffering horribly painful seizures hourly during his first twelve months, doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital realised something was seriously wrong. Yes the greatest doctors in the world could diagnose and medicate and monitor Sam while they consulted with colleagues in Germany and the USA but where do the family look for help and support on a day-to-day basis?

The answer is the Brainwave organisation, a registered charity set up in 1982, who do amazing work in helping children with many kinds of life challenges reach their potential through a programme of structured play, exercises and learning. And the magical thing is that their parents become their teachers because the Brainwave Staff coach the whole family.

To say that Sam's achievements have already gone far beyond the expectations of those early diagnosis is a massive understatement, but at a recent cricket match to support Sam's Trust Fund I was stopped in my tracks. I hadn't seen Sam for a couple of months. So I had to make a double-take as I realised the chunky little fella running past me was the same boy I had once seen totally unable to hold himself upright in a chair. I can tell you, that made even cynical old me have 'a bit of a moment'.

And since then I have decided that I have to do more for the Brainwave organisation as it is they who have made a massive difference to Sam, Jo and Martin's lives whilst the specialsits discuss and ponder the long-term options of treatment and possibly brain surgery.

You can find more about Sam, Jo and Martin's story by visiting The Sam Andrews Trust. Just google.

But in the meantime this fatboy has decided to run and bike in order to raise money and awareness for Brainwaves, whose patrons include Polar Explorer Sir Ranulph Feinnes and Essex X-Factor star Olly Murs.

And because I can, I have enlisted ALL my team at work to join me in the Essex Off-Road Duathlon - 4.5k Run/13k bike/2.5k run - in Hylands Park on Sunday October 16th, 2011.

There are six of us doing it. Could you spare 50 pence for each of us that completes the course? Or maybe just make a one-off donation to Brainwave via this JustGiving page.

Please visit WWW.BRAINWAVE.ORG.UK. for more info.

One of the great aspects of what they do is to keep money raised in our 'home' area locally. So anything we can raise- and I would like to get £250 - will help the families in Essex who visit the amazing staff at their Centre in Witham.

It's expensive to help children with these severe issues - including cerebral palsy, autism and down's syndrome - typically £3,500 a year - so the more generous you are, the more families you can help.

God bless you for reading. Hope you can help.