On 15th September i‘ll be taking part in the York of Vale half marathon to raise money for the childrens ward, gate 46, Pinderfields hospital.

As family and close friends know, our lovely son George became very poorly when he was 5 weeks old and was in and out of hospital for months. At his worst he was on the HDU with pneumonia on his lungs and could not breath on his own. George spent the best part of a month in Pinderfields hospital hooked up to machines until he was finally well enough to come home.

The staff on the ward were amazing and made what was a horrendous experience bearable. We were emotional wrecks but the doctors and nurses were so kind and accommodating that our little hospital room almost felt like home. It still blows my mind to think that this service did not cost a penny. Even parking for my husband was covered! I know we all pay our taxes but if the NHS was private, there would be no way we would have had access to the thousands of ££££££ this basic treatement would have cost!!! We saw lots of children during our stay and they were also treated with the same kindness from our fabulous doctors and nurses!!

To say thank you i would like to raise money towards some toys for the “family room” on the children‘s ward, gate 46. This is a real life saver for children in their providing entertainment and a much needed distraction from treatment. Our daughter visited us everyday and she could not wait to go into the family room and play with the toys. All the toys and equipment are all donated and i would like to raise as much money as i can to go towards replenishing toys/decorating so others can enjoy it as we did.

I know it seems everyone is fundraising recently but every penny really does count. If you have little ones and may use the services of gate 46 at some point then this will be money well spent. I will also be selling some items to go towards the fund.

Thank you in advance.