Hello everyone,

Thank you for visiting my second JustGiving page of 2017!

This time I have decided to sign up for the Great South Run for another fantastic charity, Friends of PICU. FOPICU is a registered charity that was set up in 2006 by parents of children who have been cared for on Southampton PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) and nursing staff from the PICU. Friends of PICU aims to support the children and their families by providing vital equipment and services that are not always provided by the statutory authorities.

In 2009 my little brother Rory was admitted to Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, with a serious pain around his stomach and abdomen. After a lot of speculation it was suggested that he may have Necrotising Fasciitis which is a rare but serious bacterial infection that affects the tissue beneath the skin, and surrounding muscles and organs. It's sometimes called the "flesh-eating disease", although the bacteria that cause it don't "eat" flesh – they release toxins that damage nearby tissue. Rory was only 2 at the time and he was susceptible to the infection as his immune system was weakened by Chicken Pox. He was moved to Southampton General Hospital where the diagnosis was confirmed. He required major surgery to remove all of the bacterial infection, in total he had 3 operations to remove the infected tissue and the condition stabilised. He was transferred to PICU and if not for the remarkable work by all of the staff that looked after him, then Rory could well not be with us today. I should say that it was not just the staff at Southampton PICU that looked after Rory but many staff from all across the Southern NHS Trusts that we owe a great deal of thanks. Rory is now a healthy, albeit very cheeky, 11 year old boy with only scars and positive memories, relayed to him by his family, of the time. 

I hope if you have read this you can spare a few of the Queen's sterling to raise funds for a truly fantastic cause.