Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

The newest member of our family, Arizona, was born in February 2020 with the incredibly rare condition, CMN

CMN is an abbreviation of Congenital Melanocytic Naevus, a type of birthmark that may appear in newborn babies.  

Essentially it’s a single gene mutation that causes large birth marks covering up to 80% of the body. It can also cause tumour growths in the brain and spine that can sometimes prove to be fatal. 

Research conducted at Great Ormond Street Hospital and support for CMN is funded entirely by donations and charity fundraisers. The “Caring Matters Now” charity was formed in 1997 and since then has supported hundreds of families affected by CMN in the UK and oversees.

Caring Matters Now is a registered charity and support group specifically for people with CMN and their families. Their aims are:

• To support those affected by CMN
• To raise awareness about CMN
• To raise funds for the CMN research

Caring Matters Now wants everyone to love their skin.

The idea of beauty is always shifting, and today is more inclusive than ever. Arizona will always have significantly different looking skin to her peers, but we want her to always remember that her skin is beautiful, and makes her the person she is. 

To commemorate her first birthday, and to raise funds for Caring Matters Now, members of our family and friends will be taking part in a “Sponsored Tattoo”. We have all chosen to have either one of Arizona’s birth marks (she has over 150) tattooed to us, or the Caring Matters Now logo. 

The people getting “Inked” are:

• Dan and Hannah - the proud parents 
  
• Peter - Arizona’s Grandad and notorious hater of tattoos (this was his idea by the way)
  
• Sam - Arizona’s glamorous Granny
  
• Olivia - Arizona’s Auntie and favourite human to FaceTime (She lives in Bath)
  
• Sebastian - Arizona’s Uncle (all the way from Portugal)
  
• Jonny - Arizona’s God Father, in Bonnie Scotland
  
• Beca - Arizona’s Auntie, in glorious Norfolk
• Paul - Arizona’s Uncle (and Godfather)

Arizona, our family, and Caring Matters Now are incredibly grateful for your support, we look forward to raising as much money as we can for a charity so close to our hearts! 

For more information about CMN, please follow the link below:

https://www.caringmattersnow.co.uk