Our son Lucas is a fighter and an inspiration. He was born in 2010 with a Lymphatic Malformation involving his neck, mouth, tongue and cheek.  This complex condition had been detected on ultrasound scan during pregnancy and doctors informed us that there was a significant risk that he would not be able to breathe at birth.  Despite these concerns, Lucas was born in excellent condition, breathing on his own and crying loudly! 

When he was two weeks old, Lucas began to have difficulty in breathing and was admitted to Birmingham Children's Hospital.  The large lymphatic cysts in his neck and throat were blocking his airway and so he had what was to be the first of many operations attempting to remove parts of the malformation.  In May 2012, his tongue become massively enlarged due to the overgrowth of lymphatic cysts and veins resulting in another life threatening operation to remove a large section of his tongue.  In his first three years of life, Lucas has been admitted to hospital on numerous occasions, including spending his first christmas in Intensive Care after having a tracheostomy inserted on Christmas Eve to enable him to breathe.  

Our little man has already endured many operations and procedures, with many more expected for the future.  He will be under the care of Birmingham Children's Hospital for years to come.  In spite of this, Lucas is a happy, cheeky, bright little boy who brings joy to our life and makes us laugh every day.  He still has a tracheostomy and the lymphatic cysts continue to grow but he manages to defy expectations by eating and drinking normally when he realistically should have been tube fed and by communicating well using sign language.  He is a little star and we are very proud of him! 

The staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital all do an amazing job. Especially Mr Kuo and his team.  I am motivated to try to raise as much money as possible to say thank you for all of the dedication, skill and compassion shown towards Lucas and the other children who have to spend any of their precious childhood in hospital.

I have challenged myself to do the following in September 2014:

Swim the longest lake in England, Lake Windermere, 10.5 miles  non-wetsuit

Climb the highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike, 3,209ft.

Cycle 200 miles to finish at Birmingham Childrens Hospital.

All  done in under 20hrs 

All money raised will be used in support of Mr Kuo in the purchasing of much needed medical equipment.

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