In 2014 we are planning several events to raise money for Ronald McDonald House, a charity who provides families with the opportunity to be close to their children when they need it most. We are planning 2 x 10k runs and a 500 mile cycle challenge incorporating the climbing of the 'Three Peaks Challenge', and we are doing all this to say thank you for the help the charity gave my sister and brother-in-law during my niece Daisy's prolonged stay in The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital last year.

Our gorgeous, heroic and brave niece was born on 15th April 2012; however, things did not go according to plan. Daisy experienced difficulties and had to be brought back to life by the staff at the hospital, after being without oxygen for some considerable time. This resulted in brain injuries, the true extent of which I suppose we'll never actually know. Since that day Daisy has been in and out of hospitals and we as a family have been told on many occasions to brace ourselves for the worst. Daisy, however, has had different ideas and continues to battle on each day usually with a smile of defiance on her face.

However, there are still times when Daisy's condition can deteriorate quickly, and last year was one such occasion. Daisy became very ill and was sent, via Wigan Hospital, to The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital as her condition worsened. Needless to say this was a time of grave concern for Daisy's parents however, due to the existence of Ronald McDonald House, Heidi and Paul were able to stay with Daisy when she needed them most. During a 3 month stay which included several operations and critical moments, Heidi and Paul were able to be close at all times thanks to the charity, and we all saw what a comfort this was to them. This is why we are determined to help fund the facilities so that other families can have use of them in their time of need. 

Over 1.5 million children per year are admitted to hospital and in 2013 Ronald McDonald House helped over 7,000 families who, without their facilities, would have had to leave their sick and poorly children and face the journey back to their homes or face huge costs to stay locally. It costs the charity £25 per room to house a family for a night, and running costs top £500,000 per year, per house! That cost is purely borne from fundraising, and as a family who have benefited from their services, we feel it's vital to help with these costs and give the charity a huge THANK YOU! We would love to raise £2275 which would cover Daisy's stay in Manchester and help us show our gratitude. To find out more about RMHC and what they do please visit http://www.rmhc.org.uk/

Daisy has inspired an ever growing army of people willing to help us say 'Thank You', we have Sean Smith doing the Manchester £10k on Sunday 18th May, this is then followed by Adam and Nigel Walsh (Daisy's Uncles), Paul Easton (Daisy's Daddy), Al Reeves (Donate4Daisy veteran!), Andy Dunleavy and Rob Everett taking part in our '3 Peaks on 2 Wheels' ride! We will set off by climbing Ben Nevis on the 9th August, proceed to ride to Scafell Pike and climb England's highest peak then hopefully arrive in Snowdon on the 16th before reaching our final summit! It's just short of 500 miles cycled and 3407 metres climbed over 9 days! We will be joined on the climbs by our wonderful support driver/medic/mechanic Laura Walsh - this year accompanied and assisted by Cheryl Dunleavy. We will also have the support of wives, girlfriends and many other friends and family, Daisy's courageous cousins and, of course the star of the show, Daisy. The trio of activities is then finished by Laura Walsh, Karen Chadwick, Donna Chadwick and Daisy's Mum Heidi completing the Wigan 10k on 7th September, I am going to attempt this also trusting my legs have not deserted me!

All in all it promises to be a bumper year but we can't do it without all you wonderful people who donate each year. While there are charities out there that need our support and offer their help so willingly to Daisy we will be compelled to continue.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks for giving what you can. To donate online, please visit the Just Giving website and search for ‘Donate4Daisy2014’!

Adam Walsh (and family)!