The core activities and strategy of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation are driven by the needs of heart failure patients, carers and family communities we serve. We get to the real crux of the problems, the problems that patients tell us they have. Our communities are large and we have superb interactions with them, we run the largest Facebook page dedicated to Heart Failure globally so we fully understand the needs and challenges they face. We develop and distribute patient information to the vast majority of NHS Heart Failure Teams in the UK.

My sister Sam is a mother of three sons and also has a grand daughter. In 2019 she had a bout of pneumonia and sepsis and in April she was diagnosed with heart failure - she was 51 years old. To me Pumping Marvellous is a lesser known charity and I'm excited to fund raise for them. They have helped my sister so much where she can compare notes with real people and where no question asked is stupid. Sam has found that during this life changing diagnosis she always has support and can laugh and cry with others through the Pumping Marvellous excellent Facebook page. Sam worked, used to cycle everywhere and take her dog on long walks - initially she could barely walk 10 metres - can you imagine what that is like at 51 years old?

Many other members of my family have all suffered with heart issues - we are all females - I guess it's because we are more sensitive than men and our hearts break easily!

I've decided to do a bike ride on my old clothes horse and it has been dusted off and is ready for action. I'm going to initially virtually cycle to the Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk as my Mum (a survivor of six heart attacks) would like me to 'visit' Murphy the Mule and Clover and Bramble (cows) who she sponsors. I may then pop along to Hemsby and dip my toes in the sea - we have had many family holidays here way before we had ever heard of heart conditions.

Please please sponsor me and visit the Pumping Marvellous website so you can see all of the fabulous work they do.