Thanks for visiting my JustGiving Page! I’m running the Virgin London Marathon 2016 for Children Living with Inherited Metabolic Diseases (CLIMB) on the 24th of April 2016. It would be great if you could donate and share my Page so I can raise as much as possible to help them continue their amazing work. Thank you.

Why am I running for CLIMB? Well, it’s because my grandson Henry was born on 17^th June 2015 in Leeds and looked perfect. But within three days he was in an intensive care unit in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital struggling for life as a team of doctors, nurses and consultants worked to save him. The problem was a rare form (we were told: 1 in 100,000)  of an inherited metaboloic condition  (MMA) that screwed up the way he metabolises protein leading to very high levels of ammonia and acidity levels in his blood – potentially fatal or with long-term damaging effects if not identified and treated early.  We still don’t know if Henry was one of the really lucky ones but I’m happy to report that he’s now at home with his parents, Charlotte and Richard, and looking great. But why should you care about a 1:100,00 chance? Well, MMA is not the only metabolic disease – just look at the CLIMB web-site and you’ll find an expanding list of over 700 little known metabolic disorders, most with serious and life-long implications. CLIMB supports families that are coming to terms with these chance occurrences and the effects they may have on their children. But, just as importantly, it also funds research and campaigns to make sure that we implement early screening so that doctors respond quickly to prevent avoidable damage to newborn babies and reduce the costs of providing life-long care. It makes compassionate and economic sense for everyone.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to CLIMB. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. Many thanks for considering.