In 2022 I am turning 40 and, to be honest, if it wasn't for Meningitis Now then I could well not have made my 5th birthday. I am planning to cycle 2080 miles in 2022 which is the equivalent of cycling 40 miles a week, every week of my 40th year to raise money for this life-saving charity.

A few days before my 5th birthday I was very poorly at home and gradually getting worse. A locum GP came to visit me and told my Mum that it was just a throat infection. Implications were made that maybe she was being a bit neurotic. 

As I got worse, my Mum could remember seeing information in the surgery from the Meningitis Trust (now called Meningitis Now) of the symptoms of Meningitis. I was matching a lot of these symptoms and so Mum and Dad took me to the Doctor's surgery to get a 2nd opinion. Thank goodness they did. The GP that saw me there realised how serious the situation was and told Mum and Dad to drive me straight to the hospital, there wasn't time to wait for an ambulance. When they got to the hospital, Dad went to park the car and Mum carried me down the long corridor; a lumbar puncture was performed on me and it was confirmed that I had Meningitis caused by the Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria (Hib).  Mum and Dad were told how unlucky I had been as it mainly affected children under 5 and it was so close to my 5th birthday. Thankfully, with time, I recovered well but, if it hadn't been for that initial information and the support the charity gave my family after diagnosis, it could have been a very different outcome. 

In general I'm  not the most fit or healthy of people and if you had asked me 12 months ago if I could do this challenge I would have fallen on the floor with laughter.  I have been building up my cycling ability and I am very stubborn so therefore determined to do whatever it takes to raise funds for this brilliant charity. Not only do Meningitis Now help people understand the symptoms, they also support people impacted by Meningitis and support research to try and eradicate Meningitis. 

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 Meningitis Now. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you so much for your support, both Meningitis Now and I appreciate it more than we can put in to words.