Thank you.

To all of you who donated to my Just Giving page and helped raise over £1000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, this post is for you...

I went round Hyde Park with a wand in my hand,
Feeling so proud I'd raised over a grand.
The messages I carried spurred me on,
As without you, it couldn't have been done.

A very special Thank You to quite simply say,
Your kind donation has made someone's day.
The money we've raised will make such a difference,
Hopefully giving families a better experience.

Medical equipment to save a broken heart,
A bed for the night so families aren't apart.
Specialist research and expert staff,
Cheerful wards to make children laugh.

Some of you worried what you gave was quite small,
But add it up and look at it all!
Thank you again, on behalf of Amelia and me,
and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity!

xxx

Looking back : Looking forward

Four months ago I made the decision to take part in this year's Adidas Women's 5k Challenge. My primary objective at the time was to raise as much money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSHCC) as I could. Amelia's operation was still very fresh in my mind, being only a month prior, and I felt I needed to do a fundraising event sooner rather than later.

As the weeks and months have passed I have found the whole process to be a great deal more than just raising money. What surprised me was how much I needed to let go. Over a year of built up feelings needed to find their way out; training and writing this blog has proven to be a positive way of channeling these feelings.

Every time I went out for a jog in preparation for the Adidas Women's 5K Challenge, I would be thinking over my next blog post, thinking about the events that had led me here and how I could tell you my story in a way that would emphasise how much GOSHCC need your support, yet also in a way that wouldn't have you sobbing on the sofa for the rest of the day. Comments received about my blog plus the staggering total on my Just Giving page suggest I got the balance right.

Right from the start, I decided this was to be my only fundraising attempt; it is not going to be an annual thing so you can be assured I will not keep pestering you for money!  I would still like to take part in events for GOSHCC, but I will not be asking for sponsorship.  I still maintain that I am not a natural runner, although I may participate in the occasional 'fun run' for GOSHCC. In all honesty I can't wait to go back to the comforts of my Wii Fit, cross trainer and Desperate Housewives! After Sunday I will no longer embrace the outdoors for my fitness fix!

Crossing the finish line in Hyde Park on Sunday will not only represent the end of the race, but an end to a difficult year. I feel I've been able to make peace with what has happened and it is now time to move on and look forward. The journey has been positive, not only in Amelia's successful operation and recovery but in the fundraising that has been done since. I'd never had believed that I would be going round Hyde Park with almost £1000 for GOSHCC. I'm eternally grateful to all of you who have donated to GOSHCC, as without you, the hospital would not be able to go on looking after children in the way that they do.
xxx

The magic number!

Here it is, my race number for next Sunday!

It's all very professional and serious which scares me slightly as I am no where near professional (although for those who have given me their hard earned cash, I am taking this seriously)!

Along with my number I was sent a magazine outlining the event, interviews with past runners, advertisements from different charities, etc. I straight away flicked to the page about what to do on the day and where I needed to go. I discovered that I had to pick an appropriate 'zone' for my running ability. OK, let's see..

"The front rows at the start are for the elite and celebrity runners only"  Nope, not me!

"The next zone is for runners capable of 25 minutes or faster. There were just 150 runners who achieved this time last year so do not promote yourself to this zone unless you are a competent and regular runner and confident of running the whole distance at this pace".  I can't say I'm competent and I'm not feeling so confident here so I'm thinking... nope, that's not me! Next?

"Behind the sub 25 minutes zone is the zone for 25-30 minutes. Again this is for regular runners..." Hmm, don't think I'm suitable for that zone. Oh, dear is there going to be a 'zone' for me? Let's see about the next one...

"The next zone is for those capable of 35 minutes or faster. Most of you who intend to jog the whole way will be in this zone." Now this is sounding a little better. It was my intention to jog the whole way, however I have not achieved this in my training. I blame the many hills I have to encounter. Norfolk is supposed to be renowned for it's flat landscape yet there seem to be an abundance of hills and gradual inclines in my area! Silver Road and Constitution Hill are a dream to jog down; indeed give me a 5K downhill route and I'd love it!  But jogging up them? I'm afraid I have to walk.

"The final two zones are for those likely to take over 35 minutes, whose main aim is to simply complete the course."  If I had done no training I know I would be able to complete the course, so that's a given. If I do the combined jog/walk approach, as I have been doing in my training, this is probably the better zone for me. My target is 40 minutes. This seems realistic for me and if I do end up jogging it all I could lead the pack! Haha! I could win (sort of)!

There is an extra line that suggests an alternative. "...if you have children with you, and/or especially if you have buggies... you should start in this zone." This suggests I could go round with Amelia in her buggy! How great would that be?! After all, it's because of her that I am raising money for Great Ormond Street Children's Charity and doing the event. I'm sure Amelia would love to go whizzing round in her buggy and certainly something to be proud of when she's older. If it really is a possibility on the day, then I think this will be the number one option.

Decision made then! All that's left to say is please sponsor me if you haven't already!!! I'm really doing this, I even have a special GOSHCC T-shirt to wear, and it means an awful lot to me. Please show that you support me by clicking here. Thank you. xxx

Keeping the magic alive

The 'magic wands' post was a real success in terms of promoting my blog and getting donations to my Just Giving page. My initial target of £200 has been reached and I'm hopeful that the amount will continue to go up.

It got me thinking. How could I represent all this 'magic' that people were donating? To not only show my gratitude but to also show tangibly how individual donations build up to create something big.

I came up with this:

This wand will have all the names and messages attached from those who have donated. If you want to feature on the wand click here to donate. The plan is that I will carry the wand with me when I do the Adidas Women's 5km Challenge on 11th September, so you'll all be with me!  Who knows, it may even give me a little boost if I start to flag!

Before I end, if you're reading this thinking "Why does she keep going on about magic and magic wands?"  It's not because I have a secret desire to be Tinkerbell or Harry Potter. No. Let me just remind of Great Ormond Street Hospital's slogan...

Magic wands

One of the first things you think about when you're little one is poorly is "I wish I could swap places with them."  Whether it be a snuffly cold, recovering from painful injections or about to embark on a 4 hour operation; all you want is to make it better, take it away with a magic wand.

I would have given anything to swap places with Amelia so that she didn't have to go through a major operation. But I couldn't. I had to place all my faith and trust in Great Ormond Street Hospital. They don't have actual magic wands but they do have a miraculous team of doctors and nurses.

A few weeks ago I read a live blog by The Guardian that followed a 2 week old baby girl's heart operation. It was fascinating reading, along with the pictures that accompanied the piece.  Whilst the baby was not having the same operation as Amelia, there were many parallels and it gave me an insight of what actually went on whilst Amelia was in theatre. The scale of people and machinery, on which I'm sure any operation relies upon, is huge. There were seven health professionals in theatre with this baby, along with the head surgeon, not to mention the machines that monitor and keep the baby alive.

So where am I going with this? Here's where. Victor Tsang, the senior surgeon at GOSH spoke about many things regarding the surgery but this stuck in my mind...

"I can't give you an exact figure on how much an operation like this would cost. As well as surgery it requires ward resources, intensive care and other scientists supporting what we are doing in other laboratories. But it is very expensive. I would estimate around £50,000."

£50,000!

I'd always wondered how much in monetary terms we 'owed' GOSH for fixing Amelia's heart but never thought that it could be calculated. Yet here it was. An estimate admittedly, and not for the same operation, but it gives some idea of the actual expense. I realise that GOSH isn't completely funded by public donations, but without them the quality of care just wouldn't be the same. Each donation is like that magic wand; helping children and their families.

I couldn't possibly raise that amount of money in my lifetime, even £5,000 would be a stretch but what about £500? My current target is set at £200 but somehow it just doesn't seem enough.

I've raised around £150 so far and I am so very grateful to all those who have put their hand in their pocket and donated. Family, close friends and people I've not seen for years; even people I have never met! I'm so touched that they care about Amelia's story and want to help towards others.

So go on, your turn. Click here. Just a few pounds, it doesn't have to be a lot. Then you can sit back and feel proud that you've helped make a difference to a child. You've waved your magic wand. x

The long and winding road...

OK, so the road may not be that long at the moment or winding but the training is well underway and I'm starting to get into a routine. I'm currently working on my first mile out of a total of three (technically 3.1miles, but let's not get picky). I have three months, so a mile a month is what I'm working on. Maths in action there folks!
My training really turned a corner this week (excuse the pun) as my body gets used to jogging in the real world and I start to get the hang of pacing myself. No more whirring of the cross trainer, hidden away in the spare bedroom with my eyes glued to desperate housewives. Oh no.. Time to let the public see me sweat and hear me huff and puff like Darth Vader. Nice.
Now, Facebook followers would have perhaps read the status updates, one in particular stating, "Jog done. I'm not gonna lie, it ain't fun." I was feeling particular fed up that evening, seriously questioning my ability to run this 5km. When I began training I started out with a short circuit round the block, about 0.5km, and would repeat. In just a couple of weeks though I was running round in circles three or four times. It had got boring and I was loosing my motivation. I had tried taking the iPod along for company but every time I ran a few metres the silly headphones would just pop right out of my ears! *sigh*
So the next trip out that week was to be different. Still no iPod, the battery was now flat, but I had a new route planned; a longer circuit that I would not have to keep going round and round and round. Off I went, with a spring in my step and I did it! My first mile. Yay! Need to perfect it a little before we set to work on the next mile, but I'm starting to feel confident about this challenge.
Thank you to all of you who have sponsored me so far. It really does help to keep me motivated and determined to achieve something I've never done before. xxx

Time to raise some money!

Hi all!

If you're reading this then you will know I've signed up for the Adidas Women's 5k Challenge. 5k, you say, not very far. But I don't really do running! More like a light jog or quick dash to the car when I come out of Tesco and it's raining. When I was at school I hated anything that involved running down a grassy track, unless it was the bean bag race - I aced at that, thanks to my Mum sticking my hair in bunches that balanced that beanbag perfectly on my head! (Thanks Mum xxx).

But things are different now, I have a purpose which doesn't involved being chased by a cheetah. I want to raise lots of money for Great Ormond Street, a charity that I can't thank enough for what they have done for Amelia. To put it simply, without them Amelia would not have a long, healthy future ahead of her.

If haven't already, please sponsor me. If everyone I know sponsored me £5 I can maybe even beat my target! In return I will run my socks off on 11th September. In the meantime keep visiting my blog and I will keep you updated on my progress.