Why am I going to walk / jog / run / crawl 100km in the Race to the Stones?

Over the weekend of 14th & 15th July I will be taking part in an event called Race to the Stones in aid of a very special cause. I don't often collect sponsorship for events that I enter, however just recently I've found out that a friend of mine is having a very difficult time and could certainly do with some help. In the past I have collected for registered charities, however this time, knowing who will benefit from the funds raised, it's extra special.

A couple of years ago my wife (Fiona) and I moved to the UK with our 2 boys. Everything was new, a new country, new surroundings, new schools. Fiona found she had some free time so she decided to spend some of it helping out at reading time with some of the year 1 children at the boys school. One little 5 year old boy in particular stood out. Politely he'd always ask "Mrs Rowland" if he could read to her, which always brightened up Fiona's day.

Since July 2017 the little boy (now 6) has been having headaches but an MRI scan in April this year confirmed every parents worst nightmare. It revealed a very rare condition called a craniopharyngioma, which is a benign brain tumour. He’s had surgery to drain the cyst within the tumor however sadly the tumour is attached to a part of his brain (his hypothalamus) which makes it too risky to remove. The best way to treat it is to have proton beam therapy, but unfortunately we don’t have any of these machines in England yet. The only option is to travel overseas to undergo treatment which will take a minimum of 8-12 weeks.

He is now undergoing treatment at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital but as you can imagine the unexpected costs are already mounting up - travel to London, parents unable to work their normal full time jobs, hotels, food on the go etc. Most of us (thankfully) cannot imagine the worry and burden something like this must have on a family. We all have kids of our own or nieces or nephews or know someone like this little boy so if you can go without that extra pint or without taking your taxi to the station one morning and walking instead, then all donations will be very gratefully received. All of the money raised will be donated towards helping the little boy get the best treatment and care he possibly can and towards helping his parents with travel, accommodation and living expenses while overseas.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, it means a lot.