As some of you may or may not know my mum was diagnosed with Hughes syndrome in 2005. Due to the syndrome's symptoms being so common with many other illnesses/diseases, it is very hard to diagnose somebody with it! I've done some fund raising to help the relatively small Hughes Syndrome Foundation in previous years but this is my biggest challenge yet so please dig deep and help this great cause that is very personal to me and my family! Any donation is hugely appreciated!

Known medically as the antiphospholipid syndrome and more colloquially as ‘sticky blood’, Hughes syndrome is an autoimmune disease which affects the blood and its ability to clot. An overactive immune system produces antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) which cause the blood to clot too quickly both in veins and arteries.

The clotting can affect any vein, artery or organ in the body and the consequences can include potentially fatal conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and DVT. In pregnancy, the antibodies can cause miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, small babies, early deliveries and stillbirth.

People from all ages, including children can have Hughes syndrome, but it tends to mainly affect the 20-50 year old age group and women more so than men. In the UK alone, it is estimated that Hughes syndrome affects 1 in 200 people.