My 6-year-old son was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) in February 2022. At that point he was only 4 years old. Even though cancer treatments are getting more and more effective and often lead to a lasting cure, AML is a particularly tough disease, and the chances of remission are a lot lower than with other cancers. My son was treated with 4 rounds of chemotherapy throughout 2022. He spent almost 7 months in King’s College Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital, including 8 days in intensive care after suffering acute respiratory distress and a cardiac arrest. But he survived, and finally achieved remission in September 2022! Sadly, he relapsed in May last year, just 2 days before his 6th birthday. In July he started a bone marrow transplant, again in Great Ormond Street, and after another 4 long months in hospital, he is currently in isolation at home, recovering slowly from the high dose chemotherapy and the ongoing effects of the transplant and anti-rejection medications. It has been a brutal experience for him, and for his sister, and for us, but we have our fingers crossed for the future.

The quality of care he has received has been truly amazing, and we feel very lucky to have these two world-class research hospitals available to us and directing his treatment. Unfortunately, as with all NHS trusts, the demand on the services and facilities at both hospitals is intense, and they rely heavily on their charitable foundations to plug gaps in finances, build new facilities and replace broken equipment.

I decided I had to do something to help… so, I am going to run two half-marathons this year…  one in April for the King’s College Hospital Children’s Oncology Ward, and then another in October for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Cancer Centre.

It would mean a huge amount to me and my wife if you would sponsor my efforts!

King’s College Hospital - Children’s Oncology Ward

London Landmarks Half Marathon 2024, on 7th April