As many will know by now, my wonderful mum Angela had a severe stroke earlier this year. While she is bravely fighting on, the effects of this stroke have changed hers and, by extension, my own life forever. I spent the first several months post-stroke being her caregiver in hospital and have seen first-hand the brutal, harrowing impact these events have on patients and their families / friends. My own story is only one of many - in which every day people are ripped from their full, rich lives, to facing the seemingly impossible uphill battle towards recovery.

Which brings me to the point of this.

This August my lovely friend Steph and I will be doing a little uphill climb of our own in solidarity. Together we will be trekking up the original Inca Trail in Peru all the way to Machu Picchu - honouring mum's adventurous love of the outdoors and bringing her endearing spirit with me in the form of her trusty hiking boots. I love thinking back to when I was climbing up a trail with her previously and complained that due to the snow/hail and lack of path (!!!) we should turn back - she was determined to carry on come rain or shine. We will be embracing mum’s spirit on this journey and will use it to spur us on on this 4-day trek which will include, but is not limited to: altitudes of more than 4000m, jetlag, freezing nights camping, and worst of all... bugs.

After doing a lot of research and speaking to various charities, we are going to be fundraising for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. Though mum's stroke has been too severe to reap many of the benefits herself, I have been hugely appreciative of how much CHSS do to support stroke survivors and their caregivers. The resources and information available are so helpful in a process that can be so daunting and terrifying when you don't know where to start. They are an amazing cause, and they could use your support.

Below are a few ways your donations will help them. All the donations you make will go to charity. And I'm very pleased to say that every donation will be doubled by my employer within their generous donation match programme.

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland:

Every penny you donate will go towards making sure people across Scotland get the support they need as they return home from hospital. They are the only charity to partner with the NHS in this way.

Their 'hospital to home' services are a hands-on, practical way to give survivors physical and mental health support which has important impact on their own lives as well as their caregivers. Survivors are set up with peer support groups and many of them end up becoming CHSS volunteers themselves to help others.

For example, your donations can:

-Fund a call to Advice Line nurses who can support anyone worried about or struggling with the effects of chest, heart and stroke conditions.

-Provide vital one-to-one support at home to help somebody adjust after a hospital stay.

-Help to train a volunteer Kindness Caller to ensure that there’s always somebody at the other end of the line for people who feel isolated after a stroke or chronic health conditions.

THANK YOU!!!