Team Hatch 2024

Darling Emma Rose led a wonderful life as a beautiful daughter, sister and friend for over 15 very happy years. Her health unexpectedly deteriorated in early 2014 - everyone suspected some form of lung disorder. Eventually this diagnosis was revised, and she was sent for a medical review at GOSH where she suffered sudden and unexpected heart failure. She actually had a dreadful and extremely rare disease called Churg Strauss Syndrome (a form of vasculitis), which unbeknown to anyone, had badly damaged her heart and other organs. For the next 102 days the wonderful surgeons, doctors, and nurses at GOSH across over 30 departments, closely supported by Emma's family and friends, did absolutely everything in their collective power to save, stabilise and give Emma the chance of returning to a normal life. Emma's journey was always at the extremes of medicine and when her own heart could not be saved she was lucky enough to be given a transplant. Emma faced it all with courage and bravery but very sadly lost her battle on 30th May, 2014. The compassion, skill, love and friendship extended to Emma and her family by the staff of GOSH was humbling and the work they do is simply amazing.

Following Emma's untimely death, the Hatchley family set up The Rosebud Appeal as a way of supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital in the areas closest to the treatment Emma received. This appeal raised over £250,000 through a series of runs, events, bridge teas, bike rides, donations and other fundraising initiatives, including Emma's father James (or Hatch), some work colleagues and other friends and relations doing the London Triathlon. That money funded a research project in the area of heart transplantation, vital cardiac home-monitoring equipment for children with cardiac conditions and the appointment of a PHD student to promote research into the genetics of types of vasculitis including Churg Strauss Syndrome which Emma was so unlucky to have. The impact of this fundraising was real and in particular there was material progress made in areas of research which directly benefited children with forms of vasculitis.

One of these fundraising themes developed a life of its own and Team Hatch, a full on Triathlon squad, was born as a group of likeminded souls led of course by Hatch! The Triathlon team has continued to grow and the Triathlon challenges have grown longer. Even the half Ironman distance twelve of the team completed in Lisbon in early 2018 wasn't enough and so a team of eight faced up to Challenge Roth, a full Ironman distance race later in that year in Germany. A full Ironman is a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike and a 42.2km marathon run all one after another on the same day, as fast as you can! This race has now been completed three times by multiple members of the team.

The team has grown from a group of those who knew Emma and are close to the Hatchley family, to include others who have been drawn both to the appeal of a longer distance triathlon challenges and to doing something for Great Ormond Street Hospital, with Emma to inspire them. Some were definitely not athletes when they started (particularly Hatch!) whist others were. It remains a mixed group but some of the athletes and performances are now earning podiums and GB Age Group Accreditation. One of the team has now officially gone professional on the world triathlon circuit – go Zack! The Group as a whole has now completed so many endurance races they are too numerous to mention. To give you a taste of what has been completed it includes multiple Ironman races, tens of half ironman races, marathons, half marathons, ultra running races and other single day challenges such as the Bob Graham Round in the Lake District and Everesting.

Part of the fundraising income raised has been used to provide an oral drug room on Pelican Ward in the Premier Inn Clinical Building, one of the hospitals new buildings. Pelican Ward is a specialist centre for rheumatology, dermatology, infectious diseases and immunology and so having a specialist area in which to prepare and dispense drugs is key. Further funds were allocated to the Charity's highest impact projects in 2018 and 2019. These include the implementation of the electronic patient record system, necessary child and family support initiatives and advancing some of the pioneering research the hospital is famous for. In particular, funds raised by the teams efforts and additional donations from friends and family have enabled research into the genetics of forms of vasculitis to continue. The world leading team at GOSH have seen tangible results so that children with forms of vasculitis have been identified earlier and treated with more specific and innovative treatments. This is what inspires us to continue to fundraise, knowing we are making a real difference to children who have potentially life threating conditions.

The Hatchley family saw this first hand during their time at GOSH with Emma as they stayed near to the ICU in Charity funded accommodation on the hospital site, making it much easier to come and go from her bedside. Emma was treated in a Charity built ward and many of the machines critical to her treatment were funded by charitable donations. In addition, many of the key support systems for those facing life changing situations are now only available if funded outside the NHS this is where the Charity steps in and makes a major impact.

These needs don't ever stop as there are always children who need GOSH and deserve the best they can get. The combined efforts of the Hatchley family, their friends and wider family, and all the members of Team Hatch have raised well over the original £1,000,000 objective which is truly amazing.

So as we find ourselves in 2024 a new challenge has emerged for Hatch and some of the team. Not quite a triathlon but a trio of events around Mont Blanc. The plan is to Climb, Run and Bike up and around the Mont Blanc massif in 2024 as follows:

• Summit attempt of Mont Blanc 4809m – Mid-June 2024 with Hatch and Alex led by Jagged Globe, the leading expedition company

• Run UTMB in Chamonix in August 2024 – Hatch is entered for the UTMB OCC 50k trail race with 3425m of elevation and Vicki is entered for the UTMB CCC a 100km trail race with 6156m of elevation!

• Bike – Hatch, Oscar and others have plans to complete the Tour Du Mont Blanc route in a day with a support crew in October 2024. This one is nuts, 330km with 8300m of elevation over some of the most famous climbs with circumnavigate Mont Blanc

Of course the rest of the team will continue to train and race in the background getting ready for the next challenge in whatever form that takes.

Just like all the events that has gone before, every event and every team athlete is self-funded for expenses and has an individual funding target to hit for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity as the price for donning the hallowed Team Hatch racing strip.

Funds raised from the above challenge will go in part to continue pushing research boundaries by supporting Professor Paul Brogan and his team, investigating the diagnosis and treatment of serious auto inflammatory conditions such as forms of vasculitis. This area still accounts for 100 new referrals and 300 patients under follow-up care each year in GOSHs rheumatology department and as the Hatchley family sadly knows, there can be devastating results if these conditions are not diagnosed early and treated effectively. Additional funds will be directed to help the hospital in its quest towards opening a world leading Cancer Centre and improving the stock of family accommodation so parents can be by their child's bedside at critical points in their journey at GOSH.

For 2024, Team Hatch will also extend some of its fund raising power to also support a wonderful French Children’s charity Le Rire Medecin which provides clinically trained Clowns across France to aid in anxiety reduction and other therapeutic programmes to improve outcomes and lives for Children undergoing life-saving treatments.

Thank you all for your continued support. Those children who are seriously ill need us and we do it all in the memory of our beautiful Emma Rose. We have to think she would be very proud.

Thank you to all of the past and future supporters, friends and family. We couldn't do any of this without you.