Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As the whole world was living through a pandemic during 2020
my body decided I need to be challenged further and deal with my own pandemic!! 

In September 2020 I started senior school but within a
couple of weeks I picked up a throat infection (the first I’ve ever had!)
Within a matter of weeks I was in so much pain all over my body I was bed bound. I couldn’t eat and was losing so much weight. 

In November 2020 my world turned upside down on getting the
diagnosis of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). I was immediately started on high dose steroids and Methotrexate, which is low dose chemo. The next 6 months were spent in and out of hospital but the arthritis was still getting progressively worse. I spent 3.5 weeks in GOSH during May 2021 and started on a new biological
treatment. During my time in GOSH I had access to a Rockin R gaming station. This allowed me to play computer games and watch Stranger Things on Netflix.

The Rockin R gaming stations were created by the parents of an amazing boy called Reece who unfortunately lost his battle with a brain tumor but through this gaming station I got to read Reece’s story https://therockinr.org.uk/ and his name lives on.

Although every day I struggle physically with pain, the
chronic fatigue, a pot of tablets before breakfast each day and realising that my recovery is going to take a very long time, now it’s my turn to help and give back to Rockin R and GOSH. I want to help other children get through those long periods stuck in hospital. I am trying to raise enough money to buy another Rockin R gaming station as there is only 1 for the whole ward that I was on and still visit every 2 weeks for treatment.

Not only will this help raise money to help very poorly
children, your donations will help motivate me to push through and get back to doing the activities that I love.

I have my treatment every 2 weeks through IV at GOSH, but through August I will also walk the 26.2 miles to match the distance of a marathon.

I will post pictures to record my progress.

Thank you for reading and thank you for donating.

Dexter

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