When our son Rory was 5yrs old we noticed a prominent lump on his right temple. Three months later and after consulting various specialists we were referred to Great Ormond Street where the walnut sized lump was diagnosed as an arachnoid cyst. We were reassured it was benign and aside from ruling out a career in boxing he was to continue as normal.

Last December he started getting headaches. They became progressively worse, accompanied by vomiting and dizziness. On the 21st Dec he was diagnosed with a Subdural Haematoma and rushed to Wessex Neurological. They performed burr hole surgery within 30 mins of his arrival and his life was spared. Three weeks later the cyst ruptured causing numerous complications and a rare, very high risk fenestration craniotomy had to be performed. Thankfully the operation was successful and by the beginning of February Rory started on the long road to recovery (see Gallery above).

Throughout his ordeal the surgical team at Wessex Neuro was quite simply exceptional, every single one of them. Cautiously lead by Rory’s surgeon, Mr Hempenstall, they dealt with the hugely risky operations and the seemingly endless twists and turns of his condition with deeply reassuring confidence and capability. Not only did they save Rory's life, they also gave everyone else on the periphery a fighting chance of holding it all together. We forever owe them a deep debt of gratitude.

Wessex Neuro is an exceptional regional capability. It saves countless lives each and every year with all of its patients benefitting from quite simply the best people with access to the best equipment and cutting edge therapies. The unit continues to operate at these levels and deliver exceptional outcomes because of a broad and active support base of grateful patients, family members and other interested parties. The funds that those efforts raise elevate the unit from good to exceptional and every single penny raised goes to giving the team what they need - funding research, purchasing equipment and delivering patient and staff care.

So having decided a few years back that my marathon days were over I've decided to once again apply the Vaseline, nipple tape and tight vest and drag my aging carcass 26 miles over the Clarendon trail to raise as much money as I can for Wessex Neuro via Smile4Wessex.

Thank you for reading this far and if we have persuaded you to donate to the cause a huge and heartfelt thank you from all of us.