Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

We’re doing a number of runs this year after starting running for the first time ever in 2021. Having completed Tewkesbury Half and Gloucester 10k, I'm going to run Cheltenham 10K with my amazing daughter (her first race), whilst my son Jake and step sons Andy & Mike will all run the Cheltenham Half.

I suffered with Polycystic Kidney Disease and had both my kidney' removed, in 2014/15 I lived a year without any kidneys, which was hard and involved dialysis 5 times a week and even that wasn't really enough. I finally got 'the call' and offer of a kidney transplant on 14th September 2015, and have been living happily every after.
You can read more of my story on my blog >> https://kidneytransplantblog.blogspot.com  

The PKD Charity gave me lots of support, advice and encouragement throughout my illness and I know my children Joy & Jake are at risk of the disease as it is hereditary. I'm therefore keen to support the brilliant work of the charity.

In lockdown I had to shield as I am on immunosuppressant drugs to protect my transplant, I started walking late at night to avoid being close to people and eventually in May 2021 started to run with the Health & Hustle group (https://h8h2019.blogspot.com) that run Couch to 5k from the local Gloucestershire CCG HQ. I never would have thought I could run, but with the support of others I have succeeded. Now I'm running 5K a few times and week - it's great for my physical and mental health.

A few years ago my stepson Mike ran the London Marathon for PKD and raised a lot of money - so I thought now I can run, why not me. I decided to challenge myself to raise money, hence the Half and 10K runs I've planned.

My amazing family are going to support me, my son/stepsons Jake, Andy & Mike will run the Tewkesbury half with me. They  are also going to run the Cheltenham Half/10K with me along with my daughter/daughter-in-law Joy and Kay - so they'll be a group of us and we're looking forward to a family photo with our completion medals at the end.

PKD needs a lot more research and impacts many more people than realise it, affecting more than just the kidneys. If you feel able to support me to support the charity I would be very grateful.

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