A good friend and colleague is trying to raise money for his daughter who desperately needs surgery before November. For this I will be doing the Great North Run along with my friend and her Dad. Amy and I will also be doing Newcastle Stampede in October. This is her story;

Hi, my name is Grace Carson, I am 14 years old and suffer from a major Spinal deformity called Scoliosis. This means that my spine is bent so i'm in pain a lot of the time and feel that I look different to my friends - I'm so much smaller than they are. I have a beautiful little puppy called Alfie and I love him to bits but sometimes even walking him hurts me too much.

This is an x-ray of my spine:

I need to have an operation in Germany by November this year to straighten my spine. My case is really unusual due to where the curve is on my spine so it is not a simple operation - this is why I need to go abroad to have it done. If I do not have it by November, the doctors will not be able to help me in the way I need them to as I will no longer meet the criteria for the surgery at all. My Family are doing all they can to raise the money but I need help as we have to raise £35,000!

Please Donate anything you can - it will make such a difference.