On 22 November 2008 Jill and Kris Cressy saw their life turned up-side-down when their son, Sam, fell seriously ill with the common cold just 4 days after his first Birthday.  It is hard to believe that something as innocuous as a cold could have such a devastating effect on a child, however, Sam was to spend a total of 8 days on a ventilator in PICU at Addenbrookes Hospital.  Fortunately, after this 8 days Sam was well enough to be discharged back to West  Suffolk Hospital  for the remainder of his recovery.

PICU Addenbrookes have just launched their campaign for 2009 to raise £28,000 for new trolleys (before you take a sharp intake of breath they will be bought gradually) and £8000 to upgrade their new NHS provided infusion pumps to state of the art ones which will work out drug doses electronically (safer and releasing valuable nursing time) and also allow them to be read centrally at the Nursing Station which provide them with a far superior monitoring system.  For more details of PICU Addenbrookes and their other fund raising activities, or to donate to their cause directly, please visit their homepage at www.act4addenbrookes.org.uk/picu.

Kris was so inspired by the fantastic care provided by PICU that he decided to join their campaign and raise money to support the unit and its staff in their outstanding work.  Kris has entered “Tough Guy 2009”.  The event bills itself as the original one day endurance event and takes place on 1 February 2009. Set in over 150 acres of fertile land outsideWolverhampton, the race organisers promise that the “spring waters will wash away your miseries and replace them with smiles of achievement”.  The race itself covers approximately 8 miles of cross country running and includes slalom hill sprints, river wading and joyous challenges such as 40ft a-frame obstacles complete with electric fences, under water tunnels, fire walks and barbed wire crawls.  To find out more about the event, please visit the Tough Guy homepage www.toughguy.co.uk.

Clearly Kris has lost his mind and he is now past saving.  Therefore, rather than wasting you time and effort on him, please give generously to ensure that PICU Addenbrookes can continue to provide fantastic care and support to other sick children and their families.