32 years ago I met my amazing, adorable friend, Polly, when we bumped into each other, walking into our new Halls of Residence for fresher's week at the University of Birmingham.

21 years ago, on 12 October 2002, a series of bombings occurred in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationalities). A further 209 people were injured. Polly lost her husband in the bombings, and as the sole survivor of a party of ten, is a burns survivor herself. She saw first-hand just how devastating a burn can be, both physically and emotionally. She experienced personally how little aftercare and support there was for adult burn survivors in the UK and decided to do something about it.

20 years ago, Polly set up the charity, Dan's Fund for Burns, to be both a lasting tribute to Dan Miller and a way to bring burn survivors the emotional, financial, and physical support they need.

In 2 weeks I will be travelling from Edinburgh to  London to be part of the 20th Anniversary celebratory fundraising weekend, joining friends, family, and supporters of Dan's Funds For Burns at the Fundraising Dinner on Saturday night, 7 October, and then joining a small group of crazy post-party runners to take part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon at 9.09 am precisely, on Sunday, 8 October! 

This charity is close to my heart for many reasons. I was fortunate to attend Dan and Polly's wedding in September 2002, only weeks before the bombing, and since then have watched in amazement and admiration as Polly continues to help countless burn survivors rebuild their lives, providing financial, critical, and emotional support and donating to improve the NHS services with providing a wide range of aftercare support.