Hello Everyone,

Time to get my walking boots on for the kiktwalk, this year myself and the rest of the team will be taking on the Edinburgh mighty stride to raise money for muscular dystrophy UK.

This is my beautiful granddaughter Miley. Most of you will know that our little Smiley Miley was diagnosed with Ulrichs congenital muscular dystrophy at just 4 months old. At the time we had no idea what this meant for Miley, the last 18 months has been a whirlwind of highs and lows and we have faced many challenges but against all odds this year Miley walked on her own after being told that there would be a possibility of her never being able to walk. There is however a chance that she will lose the ability to walk as her muscles may weaken. She also has a scoliosis which affects her breathing and can make her more susceptible to chest infections.

Unfortunately last year in March/April Miley ended up in the hospital twice with a chest infection and ended up in the ICU on high flow oxygen and she made a quick recovery. However in January she ended up on hospital with RSV and her lung collapsed she was sent to picu and was put on cpap to help reinflate her lung, she did recover quite quickly as she's a wee fighter.

Her condition has made it difficult to control her weight and due to this she's fed through a nasal gastric tube and her weight is monitored. But nothing stops our smiley Miley and she makes us so proud with her determination to keep pushing all boundaries. We continue to work closely with physio building on her strengths and weaknesses and constantly doing exercises to help build muscle strength.

Muscles.

We use them to move.

Walk, eat, smile, cry.

Pump blood around our bodies.

To breathe in and out.

Our muscles matter.

By fundraising for Muscular Dystrophy UK, I’m helping to fund world-class research into effective treatments, and life changing support for the 110,000 people in the UK living with a muscle-wasting condition.

All donations and support are greatly appreciated. Thank you!