The money you donate to Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity via this page makes a real difference to the lives of millions of patients who need and use there hospitals. And specifically on this page, All the money raised will be directed to the patients that use the incredible Bristol children’s hospital. My eldest daughter Isabella unexpectedly became one of these patients.

On May 19th last year our lives were to change forever as Isabella suffered a brain bleed due to an undetected AVM rupture. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a rare tangle of abnormal blood vessels that connect the arteries and veins in the brain or spine and if they are suddenly disrupted, severe complications like hemmorage can follow. Receiving a phone call that Isabella’s head was in pain and that she was vomiting was every parents worst nightmare and despite not being fully aware of the circumstances, i immediately sensed something was very wrong. After initial scans at Gloucester Royal a brain bleed was confirmed and Isabella was blue lighted to Bristol children’s hospital for life saving treatment. After signing papers and being told of the risks that came with surgery the longest hours of my life began. In the meantime all I had were prayers and hope - trying to reassure myself everything would be ok while at the same time being truly terrified as to the extent of Isabella’s condition.

The nurses gave us a private room to rest and come to terms with what had happened and they offered hot drinks and words of comfort. Around 2am one of the neurologists came in and told us that Isabella had made it through the first surgery and for now would stay in intensive care until she recovered further.

This was just the beginning of Bella’s journey though. We spent several days and weeks firstly in ICU then onto the high dependency unit and neurological wards before eventually Isabella was allowed to come home in mid June. The following months were spent in and out of BCH - waiting for her second surgery and having as many tests as possible to help achieve a good outcome. Each and every time we were there we were treated with the utmost care - if you needed help with getting a car parking exemption ticket, some cups for a hot drink or finding an activity to entertain the family during a visit the staff were on hand to help.

I can never thank them enough as their actions helped our family so much during an incredibly stressful time. On August 11th , a few weeks before her 13th birthday Isabella had an awake craniotomy performed at the hospital. For a twelve year old to be told they needed to be woken up during major surgery was upsetting for me as a parent but for Isabella I can only imagine the fear she felt. Despite this she faced it head on and the surgery ran from morning to night. Once more the neurologists delivered and the surgery was deemed a success. Her journey is still ongoing - tiredness , headaches and brain fog are a regular occurrence but I could never express enough gratitude for what they did - save my daughters life.

The night of the surgery before she went in all I asked the doctor for was for her to have a chance. They didn’t let me down. So for Isabella and all the other children back then and now under this incredible hospitals care they are the reason I am stepping out of my comfort zone and running for this great cause in my first ever marathon. I’ve never ran much more than 10K so 13 and a bit miles is going to be a real challenge for me. Any amount of money can help the charity provide for parents in their hour of need - I never imagined life would deal us this hand but rest assured i can tell you first hand if your family are ever in a similar position I know they will be there waiting to help.