A little overview as to why these two hospitals are important to me. If you are not sure what to do then why not split (or better still double!) your donation so that each cause benefits equal.

Your generosity is appreciated.

My thanks in advance.

Henry

Guy's

In January 2021, I celebrated the ten-year anniversary of my kidney transplant, which was performed at Guy's Hospital and where I was a patient from 2003 to 2020.

This was something that was necessary as result of my kidneys failing when I was seventeen, however with the pandemic plans for a celebration were postponed.

The team at Guy's have patched me up more times than I care to remember so now it's time for me to repay them by fundraising for their excellent hospital and also continue to show to them and other patients waiting for a kidney transplant that a fulfilled life can continue despite being told one of your major organs isn't working!

Addenbrookes

I crashed landed into their A&E department at 5am one morning at the end of March 2020. The pandemic was increasing it's grip on the country and strangely enough I ended up in Intensive Care at the same time as our Prime Minister - sadly I didn't have Chequers to retreat to when I was released some 3 weeks later!

A combination of Coronavirus activating Epstein Barr virus knocked me for six.

Then maddeningly after recovering well and feeling lucky that I didn't have too many long lasting mental or physical issue, I noticed a lump in my right armpit in October 2020.

Fast forward a month, it transpired this was Hodgkin Lymphoma, which affects about 2000 people annually. Bugger!

So after a fairly intense period of chemotherapy I emerged cancer free in May 2021 and thankfully with my kidney transplant in tact.

The team at Addenbrookes - both renal and cancer - were dynamite. So calm, professional and accurate.

I dread to think what 'bar tab' I am running up with the NHS for my treatment over the past twenty years but this next year of fundraising is my small way of saying thank you.