Not again I hear you say, but hopefully this will be my last marathon for a while. If I can break 3 hours I'll stop and bar any injuries in the next week I hope to get there, so there should not be any more begging mails for a while. For those of you who sponsored me for the London marathon, many thanks, you were more than generous. In case you didn't know I managed 3hrs2mins, so sub-3 is a good possibility this time, although I've probably just jinxed myself, but I guess its put your money where your mouth is time. So please dig deep and sponsor me online.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Little Orchids will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

This is a different charity to the last one. Little Orchids was established in July 2005 by Mrs Margaret Walsh, my mum, who works tirelessly as the manager of the center, handling the day to day running of the facility, training the staff, parents and students, fund raising, accounts, while at the same time providing a program of care and education tailored to meet the individual needs of each child. She also liases with health and education professionals to ensure each child receives exactly the care required, providing reports of each kids progress.

Disabiliites range from behavioural problems and speech delays to profound physical and mental disabilities, including autism and Oto Hara syndrome. On 10 October 2007 Little Orchids won Northern Ireland award from the Princes foundation for the best example of Integrated Health Care in Northern Ireland.

Below I have included a letter written by a parent of one of the kids (Ella - the happy little girl in the picture) at Little Orchids as a testament to the great work carried out there by my mum and her staff. Ella now has a quality of life which supassed the hopes of health care professionals and has brought much happiness to her and her family.

So please sponsor now!

Many thanks for your support.

Cheers,

Brian

Dear Margaret,

Ella was just 12 weeks old when the doctor in the Royal Children's hospital in Belfast told us; "Take Ella home and make her comfortable, palliative care is all she will require" (Palliative care implies that Ella would not be able to develop and she should be made as comfortable as possible for whatever time she was expected to live).

Our world fell apart. At home we had a lot of support from family and friends. We were bombarded with nurses, social workers and doctors. It was vey intense and although it was very helpful with the best of intentions it seemed forced.

After a few months Ella's seizures were well managed and she was having longer pain-free spells. Our community nurse suggested we pay a visit to Little Orchids. At first we were very apprehensive as trusting someone else with our little girl was very fightening. It was scary but Margaret and her staff were very warm and welcoming. They made it possible for Ella and us as a family to have a normal life again, without which I may never have left the house again.

Ella would arrive at Little Orchids in the morning and would get very excited when she recognised the girl's voices. She enjoyed playtime and would kick and move her arms to song-time. She tolerated her physiotherapy well and just loved her massage. She was really happy. In her time at Little Orchids she learned to roll and she made new sounds and many responses, which we were told, were not possible.

For us as a family there were many fun days organised. They are always involving siblings amd making them feel special as well. Parenting courses are available as well as other courses for the parents such as Makaton Sign Language.

Having Little Orchids at the early stage of Ella's illness was enormously helpful in helping us to come to terms with things and move on. It helped us to embrace and be grateful for our little angel. Meeting other parents in a similar situaion was comforting, as we had felt very isolated at first. I am so grateful to Littlle Orchids as they gave us so much.

Thank you very much Margaret and all your wonderful staff.

From a very happy and grateful mum who now has a very happy and stimulated littlle girl.