Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. For clarity, I will be self funding the trip again and all money raised will go directly to charity.

Last year I was lucky enough to trek the Grand Canyon in aid of the Stars Appeal and we raised over £68,000.

Shortly after the trek was over my 22 year old nephew was taken seriously ill, completely out of the blue. He'd had what we assumed was a sickness bug, but had carried on working and playing sport in spite of this. After visiting Salisbury District Hospital A&E for what we assumed to be dehydration, he was diagnosed with end stage renal failure. His kidneys had stopped working completely. The doctors said it was a miracle he had carried on for so long.

After a gruelling twelve hours in the resuscitation bay where Toby received numerous blood transfusions and was also suspected of having a stroke, he was transferred to the intensive care unit. He had to stay in a private room with 24 hour round the clock supervision from a nurse, as his blood levels were completely off the chart. He stayed in ICU for five days before being transferred to Portsmouth.

Since then, we have discovered that Toby suffers from Alport's syndrome, a genetic condition meaning he was predisposed to kidney failure. He underwent haemodialysis (cleaning of the blood) three times a week for four hours at a time at Salisbury's renal dialysis unit for three months and now does his dialysis at home, for 9 and a half hours a night every night. 

Toby's kidneys will never work again and he has just been put onto the transplant list. 

We have all now, unfortunately, had to see first hand the amazing work from Salisbury hospital. Without the Stars Appeal, our experience could have been a much different one. 

This charity is truly an amazing cause. The work they do is incredible and any help is greatly appreciated. You never appreciate your hospital, doctors and nurses until something like this happens, which is why I'm trekking again for the Stars Appeal. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my page. I will be organising fundraising events throughout the year and I'll post details of them on this page. All donations are welcome and I am very grateful. 

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.