I spent last New Year on the beach in South Africa with my friends Leanne and Chris.  Their 18 month old little boy, James, was healthy and enjoying the sun and surf. Fast forward a year and James celebrated New Year at home with his family in Hertfordshire after a year long journey with cancer.

In May, James was diagnosed with a very rare leukaemia with a very uncertain prognosis. However, the world class medical team at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) guided James through a bone marrow transplant to where he is today. You can read more about his journey at www.facebook.com/forjamesread. The medical team will continue to support James this year on his road to hopefully a full recovery. 

I'm grateful that we live in a country with this quality of care at GOSH.  I'm grateful that there are people there to help when we or our family and friends need them. But most of all I'm grateful that this care is available to everyone regardless of their ability to afford it.  

GOSH is able to provide the world class care to everyone with the support of financial donors. A bone marrow transplant at GOSH costs around half a million pounds. I'm going to try and raise just 1% of that by running the London Marathon in April.

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.