Not long after my cousin, Cayla, was born, she started having difficulty breathing and had to spend several weeks at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The doctors soon discovered that she had multiple pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) – a severe respiratory condition that affects less than half a dozen babies in the world each year.

As a result, Cayla must now breathe in additional oxygen for 23 hours a day, seven days a week and only recently raised enough money to go from using heavy oxygen cylinders to having her own oxygen concentrator backpack – something she must carry around with her at all times when not at home.

Great Ormond Street Hospital saved my cousin’s life and is still looking after her more than 14 years later. It is an incredible organisation that is forever transforming children’s lives.

In January, I will be walking the 100 miles from Cayla’s front door in Peterborough to the doors of Great Ormond Street Hospital in Bloomsbury in order to raise money for GOSH.

During the four-day walk, I plan to carry the equivalent weight on my back as that of Cayla’s oxygen machine. By walking and camping in the middle of winter, I aim to show that it is not a fair-weather condition but one that Cayla must deal with all day, every day.

I intend that the money I raise will be used by GOSH to continue to care for my cousin and other children like her, with particular emphasis on patients with respiratory diseases.

I know that all the money I raise will be put to good use. Please give generously!