UPDATE 2025 - Our beautiful, strong girl was discharged from the Bone Marrow Transplant team in September and her bloods are all normal 🥳 proud never cuts it when it comes to our firecracker daughter.

I attempted training for the 2024 marathon but got injured and wasn't in the right mindset, plus having to provide medical care for Lyra 24/7 meant I had very little time to train.

Fast forward a year and I'm in a much better place mentally and physically to take this challenge on 💪🏻 whatever time it takes, I'll get over the finishing line which will be so symbolic and emotional after our journey. It will never leave us, but now it's time to focus onwards and upwards ☺️

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My story begins with my strong, hilarious, beautiful, clever darling daughter Lyra, who's just turned 2 years old.

Lyra has a very rare autoimmune disorder (which I won't mention on here, because she's not old enough to give consent for me to do so) which unfortunately puts her future health at serious risk. Whilst she's been absolutely thriving so far and luckily had no health complications, her underlying bloods have been going in the wrong direction and suggest she might start to encounter life-threatening diseases and illnesses if we don't do anything.

In come the wizards at GOSH! They helped us reach the decision to go ahead with a bone marrow transplant whilst she's so young, strong and healthy, which will effectively give her a new immune system and ensure a long, healthy life for our girl.

Lyra's had chemotherapy and the transplant, and it's now a waiting game in hospital to see how her body responds. We're keeping everything crossed that these are the magic cells she needs ✨

The expertise, care and respect we've received from consultants, doctors, nurses and all other staff on #teamlyra at GOSH has been second to none. It blows our minds that we're receiving this treatment, a cure, on the NHS and that so many people are working tirelessly with us to get Lyra through this

So I want to raise as much as I can to say thank you to the wonderful people here, and to help towards funding future research. Without the scientific advancements that have preceded our story, we wouldn't be here and Lyra's future would look worryingly uncertain.

I appreciate every single penny donated, and hope to just complete the marathon in whatever time it takes. A physical marathon to finish the metaphorical one!