Hello!

Those of you who know me know I love my running and fitness. As part of my 40th year, I have decided to challenge myself, starting with the Manchester to Liverpool Ultra Marathon (50 miles) and then just to really challenge myself, because you only turn 40 once, the London Landmarks half marathon the week later; and what better cause to run for than Cerebra.

After our daughter Isabella suffered a brain injury in August 2022, we became reliant on many charities to help us navigate a whole new world of life with a disabled child and accessing resources to help Isabella with her recovery. After her brain injury, we found that the ‘normal’ toys that a 2 year old would play with were not necessarily appropriate and needed ‘specialist’ toys to help meet Isabella’s sensory and mobility needs. The trouble was, stick ‘specialist’ in front of any normal toy and the cost of that toy sky rocketed. We were therefore so grateful to come across Cerebra’s lending library, who lent us specialist toys for a month completely free of charge! On top of this, Cerebra also have a special innovation centre which focusses on making the impossible possible by adapting everyday items so that brain injured children can enjoy every day activities. Cerebra’s innovation centre, adapted a harness for Isabella so she could safely enjoy the swings (she loves the swings) in the early days when she had limited trunk control. We are so thankful for Cerebra and the work they do. We hope that in the future, families will not have brain injured children and will need their services but for now, the work they do and continue to do is amazing and I am so happy to be running for this amazing cause. Please give what you can! Thank you so much!

James