Hi my name is Kayleigh, I'm a 30 something teacher and mum of 2. But this isn't about me, this is about some amazing people who supported me through the toughest time in my life, by saving my daughter.

My daughter was 3 months old when she was diagnosed with a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) which is also known as a hole in the heart. We were told that the hole was quite substantial, it was sending blood into her lungs which was causing damage and that she may need surgery. Fast forward 2 weeks and my daughter was struggling to feed, losing weight, sweating buckets and sleeping ALOT. We were told by her Cardiologist that she was failing to thrive and would need surgery within the next month. A month went by and, after a short delay due to Covid, my daughter had undergone open heart surgery at Southampton and was taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, fondly known as PICU (Pic-you).

Nothing can prepare you for seeing your child in intensive care with a ventilator taped to her mouth, canulas in her neck and wrist, drains coming out of her stomach along with many other wires that were attached to machines beeping periodically. But the doctors and nurses in PICU were AMAZING. You don't realise the level of care that is required in PICU until you see it happening before your eyes. They nursed my baby so diligently and I am so grateful to them, I know that no amount of thank you's could ever relay my gratitude, but this is how I plan to start.

So here I am, fundraising for the charity 'Friends of PICU'. My daughter was cared for in PICU for just shy of 100 hours so I plan on building up my fitness and running every week until I reach my goal of 100km, and the grand finale will be me making my running debut in a 10km organised run around Alice Holt by Forestry Runners💪.

PICU relies on donations and fundraising in order for them to provide the children in their care with all sorts of things, however they are in constant need of items such as baby socks, mits and blankets to keep their smallest patients warm and comforted. I'm hoping my fundraising can at least help them replenish their stock, if not more, so please donate to a charity that supports these everyday heroes!❤️🐘

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.