I am running the British 10k in London on 8 July 2012 on behalf of Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice in memory of my darling girl, Lucy, with the support of her lovely auntie Rachel and my fabulous running buddy Monicka. 

Very sadly and completely unexpectedly not all was well with our little treasure when she was born on 20 November 2011.  After a harrowing few days in a paediatric intensive care unit, our darling girl was diagnosed with a life limiting genetic condition.  Tired and so very frightened of what lay ahead of us, Lucy, her daddy and I were transferred to Chestnut Tree House, a truly magical place where their amazing team took great care not only of Lucy and us, but also of our whole family. 

Heartbreakingly, Lucy left us when she was only nine days old to go and dance with the stars.  We are so very proud of our brave girl who fought very hard to hang on long enough to meet us and to have cuddles with all the people she needed to.   With Chestnut Tree House’s support, we were able to make some very special memories of our brief time together as a family, achieving simple things like playing on the swings and seeing the sunshine, even going home for the afternoon to meet our cat!

Without our darling girl we would not have known that so much kindness, compassion and generosity still exists in the world and Chestnut Tree House is the embodiment of that. It’s too easy to believe all the bad reports you see on the news and in the papers. 

Chestnut Tree House is the only children's hospice in Sussex. They provide care for children and young people who have life-limiting illnesses such as Muscular Dystrophy, Cystic Fibrosis, Hunters Syndrome, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, multiple disabilities, cancer and progressive genetic disorders which means that they will probably die before they reach adulthood.

There are potentially 400 families with life-limited children in Sussex. The hospice provides a 'home from home' environment and offers support for the whole family. There are 10 children's bedrooms plus eight family rooms, a wet and dry play area, computer and music rooms, a multi sensory room and hydrotherapy pool and the house itself is set in beautiful gardens within an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The hospice costs £2.5 million per year to run and families are never charged for their care so rely heavily on the generosity, help and support of the people of Sussex.

Thank you for taking the time to read my Just Giving page.  Please, if you can, help me to raise as much money as possible to say thank you to Chestnut Tree House for looking after little Lucy and to ensure that the same help will be available for other children and their families in their time of need.