Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In January, we received the news that Annabel had a hole in her heart. She was admitted into Ocean Ward at Southampton Hospital in February for a 'catheter closure' - a relatively simple and miraculous operation where a device is fed through an artery to the heart and opened up inside the heart, to plug the hole. Unfortunately, during the operation, it was discovered that she had several holes rather than just one - and the operation was abandoned. This meant that we were left with just one option - Open Heart Surgery.

We were lucky enough to get a slot in the operating schedule late in March - and Annabel was admitted for a more complex operation where her heart and lungs had to be fully stopped and she had to be supported by a heart/lung machine so that the hole could be fixed 'by hand'. The hospital and all of the staff were incredible - so kind and professional. We felt extremely lucky - not just for the treatment that Annabel received, but for the relative simplicity of Annabel's condition, compared to that of many of the other children in the ward, some of whom may never be fully discharged.

Annabel is now almost completely recovered from the operation (indeed, she is probably better than she was before when her heart was faulty) and is back at school. She would now like to set her sights on raising money for Southampton Children's Hospital to pay them back for the incredible care that she received - and to help other children and families who have to pass through Southampton Hospital. The money raised will go towards creating a new meeting room for families/education room.

Annabel will be attempting a 50km trek in the Peak District on the 31st August accompanied by William, Rick and I. George (who is below the minimum age to participate), my parents and Tiggy (the puppy) will be the support crew. Annabel has only just been allowed back 'on-games' so we have a detailed training plan in place so that she can build up her strength and confidence by the end of August. It will be sobering to think that 5 months before the Trek she was unable to even do a credible 'thumbs up'. The Trek may end up being a greater challenge than the operation itself - but we hope that it will be worth it - certainly for those for whom we raise sponsorship.

We would be so grateful for your generosity and support. Southampton Children's Hospital and all of its staff do a wonderful job for so many children and their families. In gratitude for what they have done for us, we hope that we can help them to continue to do this for others.