I am running the Manchester Marathon to raise money for Wythenshawe Hospital Intensive Care Unit.

And in a turn of events….so is my other brother Oliver, who will be running the Seoul Marathon (South Korea) on March 17th!!!!

For those who don't know my little brother William was admitted to hospital this year with what we thought was just a bad case of Glandular Fever.

After his speech started to slur and he could no longer swallow on his own, healthcare professionals became increasingly worried. They believed that he had developed a syndrome called Guillain-Barré. Turns out he had an even rarer variant of this called Miller Fisher - a nerve disease causing paralysis of the eye muscles, lack of reflexes in the tendons, abnormal muscle coordination, weak muscles and respiratory problems or respiratory failure. This affects 1 in a million people!!

He was put into an induced coma and on a ventilator. Seeing him so helpless was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. The nurses were shocked that William was fighting the sedatives which showed just how much he wanted to get better. After about 2 weeks they had to perform a tracheostomy, due to the muscles in his throat still not responding.

We were worried that he would struggle to walk and talk again. But with the help of the speech and language team, ICU physio's, specialist doctors and William's perseverance, he recovered so much quicker than anyone had predicted or expected.

I cannot begin to explain how incredible the staff were in the ICU, I thank them everyday for their continued support and for going above and beyond to care for William. They were calm, reassuring and extremely accommodating. Those who know William know he is a very charming and funny young man and the staff fell in love with him. Also being only 18 on an adult Intensive Care Unit meant he was the youngest person there - they definitely took him under their wings.

Thank you so much in advance for any donation made, big or small. Your contribution will help support the Intensive Care Unit at Wythenshawe hospital to continue to deliver excellent care for patients and their families during one of the hardest moments in a person's life.

Love, Kathryn & Oliver xx