On November 21st, members of the Sisk MODA Great Charles Street project including Gwyn Shirley, Stu Grazier, Simon Gould, Rob Yates, Alex Mills, Harry Davies, Deb Nickless, Karl Johnson, Kris Wadley and myself, along with some very supportive friends, Shaun Lyle, Ben Common and Ross Gibson will undertake a 17 mile fundraising walk, in support of a charity local to our site and with personal significance - the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Hand and Upper Limb Department. We need your support!

In 2024 at the age of 8 my son, Hugo, became unwell. After several scans and operations, he was diagnosed with a life-changing, rare condition affecting his lymphatic system. This condition causes lesions within his bones, leaving them weak, often painful and meaning his physical activities are limited. The path to this diagnosis has led to Hugo being cared for by many teams within Birmingham Children's Hospital including - Endocrinology, Radiology, the Spinal team, Orthopaedics, Phlebotomy, the Liver team, Physiotherapy, Pain Management Nurses, Medical Day Care, Surgical Day care, Neurology and the Hand and Upper Limb team, led by the wonderful Andrea Jester. Andrea has worked tirelessly to give Hugo back the best quality of life possible and goes above and beyond to co-ordinate his care.

Hugo's condition cannot be cured. We will always depend on the brilliant staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital and The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital to continue to monitor and treat Hugo.

To give thanks to Andrea Jester and the hand and upper limb department, we will walk from Wolverhampton to Birmingham Children’s Hospital - a journey which Hugo regularly travels to attend appointments and receive treatment.

We aim to raise funds for the department which will be used to benefit children, like Hugo, who rely on the services and expertise that the team provide.

You can read more about the work their charity provides using the links below, including the annual Adaptive Fashion Show organised by Andrea to help give lifelong confidence to children facing physical challenges.

Your support is truly appreciated. Thank you.

https://www.bch.org.uk/news/adaptive-clothing

https://bwc.nhs.uk/charms-childrens-hand-and-arm-surgery/

At Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, we believe there’s always more we can do for our sick kids and that’s why we will always strive to do more for our patients and families. It’s our mission to raise the vital funds needed to make a real difference to all who use our hospital.

Your support empowers us to take innovative approaches to treating some of the sickest children in the UK. Your fundraising enables us to make our hospital feel just like home. Your donations are helping us to find new ways to treat and cure childhood diseases.