Marvellous Roald Dahl Non-Malignant Specialist Haematology Nurse Lesley, who works at the John Radcliffe Hospital along with her marvellously supportive husband Tony will be visiting some hospitals, a school and a Golf Club and meeting and greeting Roald Dahl Specialist Nurses and families over 5 days in their "Marvinised" car Florence. They will be raising awareness of the essential work our specialist children's nurses carry out and generating funds for Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity.

Please help to support the marvellous work that our Roald Dahl nurses do by sponsoring them.

Their tour will start at John Radcliffe Hospital with a fabulous send-off and culminate in a marvellous finale at the Spring Dinner of Rochester and Cobham Park Golf Club.

Lesley supports 150 children and their families living with haematological conditions such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia by providing clinical and holistic support to manage their complex care needs. At any one time our Roald Dahl Nurses are caring for an average of 300 children, working to keep them out of hospital and managing their care to minimise disruption to their schooling and family life. 

Lesley says: 

"The idea for the #FollowFlorence tour came from Tony, my husband. He worked in a Citroën main dealer where he was an apprentice mechanic and from here developed a love for the Citroën car, particularly the 2CV. He has a small collection of these and we were planning to take one to France to tour around, but thought a trip in the UK would be a great starting point. The idea for the fundraising road trip really developed from there.

Last year, the NHS was 70 years old and Marvellous also reached a momentous milestone, as there were 70 Roald Dahl Nurses in post and the 2CV also turned 70. It all seemed too good an opportunity to miss, so the #Follow Florence tour was born.

By taking the car on the road, meeting up with other Roald Dahl Specialist Nurses, we hope to raise awareness and funds for Marvellous and promote the amazing work which everyone is doing. 

As a Roald Dahl Specialist Nurse myself, I can see first-hand how we are making a significant difference. I look after around 150 children across the Thames Valley with serious blood disorders. I help both the child and family in numerous ways; from supporting at diagnosis, navigating around the health system, educating and empowering them to manage their condition, to supporting children at school and in the
community to ensuring they are able to enjoy their life like any other child and I then help to facilitate their transition to adult services. 

I, along with all the other 74 marvellous Roald Dahl Specialist Nurses are often the first point of call for the families with seriously ill children that we look after. It is a real privilege and honour to be part of their journey. 

Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity fund the posts in collaboration with the NHS, and it is a fantastic concept and cause.

We want to encourage everyone to #FollowFlorence from 30^th April to 4^th May for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, so please get behind Team Marvellous and #Follow Florence."

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity currently supports 76 specialist Roald Dahl children's nurses across the UK, supporting around 21,000 children. These nurses work in communities, schools and hospitals to care for children living with serious conditions such as sickle cell disease, epilepsy, acquired brain injury, neurological and neuromuscular conditions and rare and undiagnosed conditions. 

£25 pays for an hour of specialist nursing care for a seriously ill child, like the children Lesley cares for. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page and thank you for your marvellous support!