As many of you know.... I've run marathons, ultra-marathons and Olympic distance triathlons without asking for sponsorship.  The Ironman is four times the length of an Olympic distance (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run) and is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world (with strict cut-off times for each discipline). This is the toughest (physical) challenge that I have ever faced and I feel I should be using this platform to help an extremely worthy cause, one that has always been close to my heart - but one that up until now I have not shared.

This is the last photograph of me and my mum.  Not long after it was taken my mum died suddenly, unexpectedly and tragically one Sunday morning...11 June 1972. She was 28 years old.  I was due to start Primary School a few months later.  She was a full time mother, and I had had no experience of attending nursery or a play group.  All I had known up until that awful day was the presence of my mum.  There was nothing to suggest that when she kissed me goodnight on Saturday night that I would never see her again. The weeks and months following her death are still too personal and upsetting to share. 

In my late thirties I was offered childhood bereavement counselling.   It was one of the most positive experiences of my life. It had previously gone undiagnosed, but I had been suffering from Post Traumatic Shock Syndrome for years. Winston's Wish was established in 1992.  They believe that the death of a parent is one of the most fundamental losses a child will ever face. The support they offer to bereaved children helps them to make sense of death and rebuild their lives - to live with their grief and face the future with confidence and hope.  I believe that if I had been offered support earlier I may have been able to cope better in my childhood (and early adulthood). 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  Winston's Wish rely purely on donations -  but I'm not going to ask you to 'dig deep' - I'm asking you to donate any amount that you can comfortably spare.

Thank you xxx