On the 1st August 1997 my family's life changed forever while we were on our annual holiday in Cornwall. I was 6 years old at the time but I still remember my Dad being poorly and spending lots of time in bed which wasn't like him at all. My next memory was of us visiting him at hospital in Truro, him wheeling a trolley full of drips and him telling my brothers and I that he had cancer. At this time I had no idea what this word meant. Dad had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and his survival rate was 30%. From day one Dad was adamant that he would see his only daughter walk down the isle. His resilience and determination was unfathomable and inspiring.

Dad then underwent three rounds of chemotherapy at the QE hospital in Birmingham and was meant to have a fourth trial round but he wasn't well enough to undergo this. I remember seeing my healthy and active Dad of 39 years old become a frail and hairless man. This felt like 5 minutes of my amazing childhood but the reality is that he was unwell for nine months! Dad was told he would never work again and be unwell for most of his life.

Fast forward to 2023 and I am so proud and lucky to say that against all odds Dad kicked cancers butt! He not only got to walk me down the isle but he is living his life to the fullest and is one of the most healthy and active almost 65 year olds you could know! He is also a fantastic Grandad to all our children.

I hope that reading this motivates people to get involved in this cause and also give hope to those who are affected or enduring Leukemia. As the reality is not everyone is as lucky as our family have been.

I have little running experience and sadly during the pandemic the Great Birmingham 10k (6.2 miles) Run was cancelled. However, I still ran it solo. When contacted by this charity, I couldn't resist the opportunity to do this Run. What makes this day even more special is that it is on my Dad's birthday!

I'm joining Team Cure Leukaemia on Sunday 7th May 2023 taking part in the Great Birmingham Run to raise vital funds for Cure Leukaemia.

Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer. Sadly, around 14,000 people die from blood cancers in Britain each year.

Cure Leukaemia invest £1,000,000 each year into 12 blood cancer centres across the UK to form the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) network. Specialist research nurses employed as a result of this funding at centres in Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Nottingham, Oxford, Southampton, Guy's and St Thomas' and UCL will open and run clinical trials of pioneering and potentially life saving treatments for blood cancer. 

Your support is invaluable.