Well, here we go again...

Thank you for visiting my next fundraiser, ya legend you! Some of you may remember I ran a marathon in honour of my late Dad in September of 2023, we ended up raising £6,104 for The Brain Tumour Charity which is something I'll always be so happy about, thank you to each and every one of you that donated or provided support for the event, it sounds cliché but I seriously can't thank you all enough!

You can visit the page here for the story of my Dad if you'd like: https://www.justgiving.com/page/lemon-aid

I enjoyed the process & the event so much that I want these challenges to become a regular thing. Immediately after the marathon I signed up for the North Downs Way 50, a point to point 50 mile ultra trail run with 5,600ft of elevation gain that takes place on the 18th of May. As things would have it, that actually lands on my Dad's birthday! So in a way, I'll be honouring him again with this one.

Training has been rough with this one, with a lot of emphasis on back to back long runs to get used to running on tired legs. At the peak of my training I ran 22 miles on one day and 20 miles again the next, and the furthest I ran was 27.1 miles, my 2nd marathon.

I'm repeating myself a little here, but for those who don't know:

the brain tumour my Dad was dealt was unfortunately not an isolated incident. They have a history in my Dad's side of the family, and I myself was born with a benign optical glioma. It's a non-cancerous tumour that's wrapped around my right eye's optic nerve. As I said in that page, thankfully, to this day it hasn't grown a millimetre and it doesn't play much of a role in my life today, and I often surprise myself when I remember I have it - but from when I was a baby it was a different experience.

Because no one was sure how it would develop, we would frequently be visiting Great Ormand Street Hospital in London for many various tests and scans. I obviously don't remember when it started because I was only a baby, but I remember it being a more serious part of my life as a young lad. My parents and family were obviously extremely worried, and I only learned recently that my Dad was hit hard by it as well. He said to my Mum he wouldn't have had kids if he knew this was going to happen, learning about his family's history with brain tumours.

Into my primary school years there was still uncertainty about what would happen with this tumour. I remember when my Dad's Nan, bless her heart, came round with a small statue of an angel to put at the side of my bed, to "watch over" me and this brain tumour, to make sure it never became cancerous. As kids we have more open minded imaginations, and even though I knew it was just a statue, I did used to think there was something to it and that it was important to keep there. I like to think today that this subconscious belief of this angel protecting me by my bed actually did help me somewhat. The mind is a mysterious & powerful thing after all.

It became routine, from multiple times a week slowly down to once per month and once per year overtime, to take an hourly train to London Waterloo with my Mum (often missing school which was a plus), getting a Burger King, and heading down to the hospital. I wouldn't mind how long the process took, since I'd miss school, but I remember a few times when we were in & out pretty quick - enough time for me to go back to school in the afternoon. As you can imagine, I was furious.

Great Ormand Street Hospital (GOSH)

is a hospital specifically for children that was founded in 1852 and is one of the top five children's hospitals in the world. They do a great job in making the hospital presentable, comforting and enjoyable for children. Or as much as a child could enjoy it I suppose, I would just want to be back home on my PS2, as I imagine many other kids would, too. I would never be too bored there though, I never had a Gamecube or Nintendo 64 but they would have one set up with loaded up Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine on there. It's the only time I ever played those games and I often associate them with my visits to the hospital. They'd have other consoles set up there as well, with a lot of kids surrounding the TV set and having a good time.

I would only be coming here for tests, scans & MRIs on a benign brain tumour that didn't really have much of an effect on my life, except for the uncertainty. But there were many other kids in this hospital who were fighting for their life. It's the largest centre for child heart surgery in Britain and one of the largest centres for heart transplantation in the world. I would often feel out of place walking past so many sick children who were obviously in a much worse situation than I was. These kids were worried about their life. I was worried about receiving eyedrops.

The Doctor's always did a great job in helping me feel comfortable and give us understanding on what was happening, and I'm forever grateful to this hospital and the NHS for these facilities being available to us.

Whilst thinking about what the next fundraiser should be, the idea of giving back to Great Ormand Street Hospital for what they provided seemed like a no brainer. Kids will always be fighting in this hospital, so anything that's donated to them will go a long way into helping their battle, improving morale and advancing the hospital's facilities.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this, gang. If you'd like to help with the fundraiser, any donation no matter how small or big is so greatly appreciated - thank you so much. The page will be up for months after the event if you'd still like to donate then, as I'll be recording the race and making a video on it. Never feel obliged to donate though, the fact you're reading this is dope! 💛

It may be early, but if you have any ideas, what sort of event do you think I should prepare for next, and what charities/organisation should we try and fundraise for?

Thank you once again, ya legends. Much love!

~ Brad