A year ago my grandson, Austin, was born 6 weeks early and with a condition I’d never heard of - tracheo-oesophageal fistula or TOF for short. It was a traumatic time for the family. Austin had an operation when he was a few days old to join his oesophagus to his stomach so that he would be able to swallow his food.

He was a little fighter and came home from hospital when he was about three weeks old. Feeding was difficult and slow. He had occasional ‘blue’ episodes when his trachea would close up and he couldn’t breathe.

Then at the age of six months he was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital for major surgery to prevent further blue episodes, Since then, he has gone from strength to strength and is a beautiful little one-year-old with a cheeky smile and zest for life.

The charity that helped us all to understand the condition and to reassure us when things looked bleak was TOFS. I’m doing this challenge to raise money so that they can keep helping other families with TOFS babies and children.

I will be rowing 10k a day on the indoor rowing machine for 10 days starting on 10th November 2026. My usual distance on the rowing machine is 5k max and I usually only do one a week so this will push me!

Information about TOFS

TOFS is the UK's charity dedicated to offering lifelong support to those born with Oesophageal Atresia (OA) and Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula (TOF).

These rare conditions affect 1 in 3,500 people and can have lifelong implications. Your donation can make a huge difference in helping us support our OA/TOF community of families, adults, and medical professionals.