Our daughter Ellie was born in 2012, unfortunately she suffered with perinatal asphyxia when she was born and had to be resuscitated to start her heart and breathing. 

As a result she was rushed to the intensive care unit at the Trevor Mann Baby Unit in Brighton for life saving treatment on the Toby Study. 

This treatment involved Ellie being cooled to lower her body temperature, this provided her body time to recover from the trauma as well as helping to prevent any further complications. 

At the time Mel and I lived in Surrey nearly 3 hours round trip to Brighton and we were left wondering how we would cope with being so far from our newborn daughter whilst she was in hospital. 

Luckily we were offered a room in the local Ronald McDonald House in Brighton only a stones throw from the hospital. This house provided us with clean and secure accommodation where we could rest and cook meals whilst being close to Ellie as she received treatment. 

As Ellie was cooled down to hypothermic levels, I have chosen to trek 200 miles across one of the worlds largest freshwater lakes in the world. 

Over the 200 miles we will cross the lake which is over a mile deep in places, luckily the ice is 1.4 m (4.6 ft) thick. The weather during the winter months sees temperatures down to -20C with snow dusting the ice as we trek. 

If you are a budding adventurer or a real life Ranulph Fiennes and would like to join the challenge we are looking for a number of people to join our team. 

You can find the Application and FAQ via the link below:

Click here for application and FAQ.

Be aware you must be physically active to complete the journey as it will require walking approximately 30km a day over approximately two weeks. 

Please join me in supporting this wonderful charity and making a donation, every donation will go directly to the charity and will help provide a family with much needed accommodation at a time that can be very challenging. 

Ronald McDonald House Charities UK provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation to families with children having treatment in hospital. Our Houses offer much more than just a place to stay; they provide family activities, peer support, respite, and many other services. 

This means that families can be by their child’s bedside in a matter of moments, whilst maintaining a degree of normal life with reduced emotional and financial strain.

We help over 6,000 families each year and now, more than ever, we need your support. Thank you.