When my son, Daniel, was born he came into the world without a diaphragm as a result of having a diaphragmatic hernia. In simple terms, this meant all of the organs that should have been in the stomach area were actually in his chest. Thanks to pioneering treatment at Kings College Hospital, he was able to make it 35 weeks and be born. At 4 days old he had surgery to repair his diaphragm and he went on to spend the next, almost, 3yrs in hospital. We fast forward to today and, against all odds, he turns 13 shortly. While he is doing really well he does require medical support and a large amount of equipment. As a result, going aboard on holiday is not an option for us as a family.

We were introduced to DreamFlight, to quote their website:
Dreamflight is a UK charity that changes young lives through taking children with a serious illness or disability, without their parents, on the holiday of a lifetime to Orlando, Florida.

We put forward application to go with them and he was chosen to go last year! They took him on a dream holiday, one that we could never have taken him on due to the amount of equipment he requires and the issues we would have with insurance, now we want to give something back.

This is a personal challenge that I attempted 9yrs ago, the round trip is over 180 miles and I aimed to complete it in one day. This was the largest distance I had ever travelled in one by at least 90 miles. Sadly, at 146 miles my back gave out and I had to be collected by the "broom wagon". To say it broke me would put it mildly, I suffered with back problems for some time afterwards as a direct result. As with any incomplete challenge, I wanted to finish it. So discussing it with Dan's mum (and my long suffering partner) I decided at the start of this year that is exactly what I would do while raising some money for DreamFlight.

I have been out training 4-5 days a week, rain or shine, and I am determined to complete this so that other kids can enjoy the holiday of a lifetime, just like Daniel did.

Any donation, I know, is greatly appreciated and will help to make more dreams come true, thanks in advance

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.