For my birthday this year I am undertaking 6 fundraising efforts - one for each decade of my life.

The second of these is in aid of Pectus Matters.

I became aware of this important medical charity when my family friend , Daniel, had to undergo significant surgery. He has given me permission to share his story.

Daniel’s Story

“Around 3 years ago, I started noticing a slight indent in my chest. I pointed it out randomly to my mum, not thinking much of it, and she compared it to photos from the previous summer, noticing i had since then developed a chest dent.

A quick Google search later showed this was called pectus excavatum (PE for short), but apparently had no common harmful side effects. Within three months I was completely unable to run anything more than a kilometer, which was originally a standard exercise to me, I was a fairly experienced long distance runner, without experiencing a sharp pain in my chest. I couldn't do any form of exercise focused on my chest muscles or breathing without severe pain, and this pain only got worse over the next 10 months or so, when i was lucky enough to receive surgery.

By that point I was basically unable to partake in contact sports, run any long distance or on bad days even breathe normally without taking pain killers several time a day. Before experiencing the worst of the symptoms, I was lucky enough to get the nuss procedure surgery in which a metal bar was inserted into my chest and shaped so that it pressed my ribs outwards, correcting the indent and preventing my ribs from causing further pain and pressing on my heart and lungs. “

Three years on Daniel is 18, living a normal life and he is now preparing for further surgery to have the metal bar removed from his chest.

However, there are people with much worse stories and Pectus Matters is raising money and awareness to ensure many more people don't have to live like that, by working with the NHS and various health advisors to get the number of surgeries done every year increased.

By supporting this small piece of fundraising I am hoping we can raise awareness of the condition and help more young people recover and live life to the full

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.