Dear lovely friends, those of you who know me well will know that me and physical activity have never been particularly compatible, and that was before developing Lyme and MCAS! However, somewhat
crazily and slightly against medical advice, I have decided to take part in this year's Astriid Challenge, simply because this charity and the work they do
means so much to me that I feel compelled to do my bit to support them. Astriid are asking their supporters to help them travel virtually round the world in
the month of July, a total of 40,075km. Clearly, I'm not going to make it that far...but I have pledged to walk the equivalent of 2km a day, every single day, for the whole of July. It may not sound much, but every day I am battling pain,
muscle spasm, chest pain, tachycardia, dizziness, systemic inflammation, neuroinflammation, insomnia and crippling fatigue, systemic idiopathic allergy
and an arduous daily treatments regime, whilst at the same time working as hard as I can with Astriid to support our amazing candidates, and it feels like all
I can realistically commit to.  Every day at Astriid I talk to people with
chronic illness who want the opportunity to be able to work, a chance to fulfil their dreams, achieve their potential and earn a living with dignity. Things other people take for granted. But a lack of flexible working practices
combined with prejudice and stigma currently make that very hard, and they are relying on Astriid to help them make it possible.

If anyone can find a few pennies to sponsor me
to help them I would be so enormously grateful. Thank you.