Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Arthritis is an old person’s illness, isn’t it……….

Last year, my 8 year old Goddaughter Lyla was diagnosed with Juvenille Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). As an older person this would have been horrible, as a child with a love of riding her bike, gymnastics and generally being a joyful and happy child, this was devastating.

Approximately 20 families a week find out that their child has JIA and it’s a lifelong condition that has no cure, it can feel catastrophic for the whole family.

Luckily, Lyla and her family were supported by JAR, Juvenile Arthritis Research who were there to offer help and advice at every stage. One of the first things they did was send Lyla a ‘Little Box of Hope’ which is a support pack that is provided to every child free of charge with information and little useful items that help them understand and come to terms with their diagnosis. Lyla was thrilled with her box and it really helped her at the start of her journey.

There is no cure as it stands, and although research continues to understand any causes, effects and impacts of the condition, and to find a way to bring an autoimmune disease to an end. In the meantime, I would like to try and raise funds to allow JAR to continue to send out boxes to those children struggling to understand what to do next. Each box costs £15 to create and send, my £1,500 target will allow 100 boxes to be sent.

So, you ask, what horrendous thing am I going to do to encourage you to give up some of your hard earned money for this fabulous cause? Well, as most of you will know, running is my hobby, and I have run marathons before so this didn’t quite seem like enough of a challenge; so, I am going to undertake a 106km non stop walk round the Isle of Wight on May 3rd. No sleep, through the night, hopefully continuing to put one foot in front of the other; come rain or shine. Running a marathon is simply part of my training plan this time, I’m starting to seriously consider my life choices….