At the age of 4 Sam was diagnosed by Great Ormond Street Hospital with a very rare condition – Ideopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.  For unexplained reasons the arteries in his lungs had become hardened and narrowed, making it difficult for his heart to pump blood into his lungs.  It is life limiting and there is no cure.

As a result of the expertise within GOSH, Sam was given a controversial drug that could only be delivered intravenously, 24/7, via an ambulatory pump which he wore in a backpack.

Thanks to this drug, and despite the original prognosis, Sam lead a full and active life.  He loved sport – namely snow skiing, water skiing, wakeboarding, cricket, cycling and table-tennis – and was passionate about F1.  He was on target to do well in his GCSEs to achieve his goal of studying physics at University.  He was an inspiration to anyone who knew him.

Sadly, Sam lost his battle and died on 7 September 2013, aged just 15 years.

During the last year of his life Sam fully embraced all that GOSH had given him and became one of their star fundraisers – directly raising in excess of £750,000, and indirectly a further £1 million.  We intend to continue his legacy in honour of his memory.

On Thursday 22nd May 6 cyclists from Interserve Construction Ltd’s Southampton Business Unit have volunteered to join with 60 cyclists from 10 Interserve Construction businesses around the UK at Greenwich Observatory to cycle to Paris to raise over £100,000 for local UK charities.  The trip involves cycling 270 miles in 3 days, with a planned arrival at the Eiffel Tower late Saturday afternoon the 24th May.

All cyclists are personally funding the trip, supported by Interserve in terms of time off work and assistance with accommodation en-route.  Every £1 raised by the Southampton team will go towards their chosen local charity – the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, in memory of Sam Cheetham.

The team are not all regular cyclists and it will take a considerable commitment by all concerned to get fit enough to cycle the route – this is proving no easy matter given the weather conditions this winter!