Thanks for visiting my fund raising page

Hello Guys

A huge thank you for sponsoring me and to those of you who have promised sponsorship after the event with the proviso that I didn’t either croak or pay a student to do it for me!  

We completed in under 23.30hrs and were the only team of those who started to finish (not bad considering the other teams where full of 20 year olds). We were ahead of that but some idiot put a cloud on Snowdon which given it was also dark meant visibility was a wonderful 10 ft at  most.  Anyway we completed the three peaks and 27 miles. Effectively half of that was walking up very steep 1ft high steps for hour after hour after hour (not easy for my chubby little legs), slipping on boulders and at a very few points clinging onto walls.    

Starting at Ben Nevis, which was tough but in comparison to the others pretty easy going.  Scafell Pike was pure torture and I wanted to give up, I certainly wouldn’t want to see the drops in daylight and Snowden was particularly nightmarish due to the bad weather and tiredness.  

Our guide was very helpful and wonderful full of statistics about how many people die each year on these mountains due to a lack of preparation (I am not sure this was helpful but it seemed to make him cheerful). We are at this point all agree however it was great and a tremendous achievement and looking forward to next one! 

I’ve now returned to work – it took 4 days for my legs to get back to complete normality and a week in the Egyptian sun!

 

 

My colleagues at Avondale have bravely and rather foolishly agreed to compete in the 3 Peaks challenge in September. This means we will be climbing the 3 highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales in just 24 hours on 26th & 27th September 2009.

I'D HAVE LIKED TO BACK OUT - HOWEVER ITS FOR SUCH A WORTHY CAUSE.  I MUST BE MAD PLEASE DONOTE AND THINK OF ME, STRUGGLING BEHIND ALL THE SUPER FIT GUYS - I'M THE ONLY WOMAN!!

Why? To raise funds for St. Michaels Neo-Natal Intensive Care department in Bristol which relies massively on public support and donations to save 100's of lives every year.

Richard Samuels' (my colleague in the Bristol office) son Louis, was born on 4th October 2008 at St Michaels at 26 weeks gestation although he was little more than 24 weeks developed. He weighed in at 653 grms (1lb 7ozs). One of the doctors had co-incidentally 12 hours before he was born given him <5% chance of survival.

Louis remained in hospital for nearly 5 months in intensive care and high dependency whilst the doctors and nurses looked after him, resuscitating him regularly from the very beginning and then less as time went on. With their fantastic work and dedication, and cutting a very long, stressful and painful story short Louis was finally able to come home whilst being continually monitored.  After just one week at home he was back at hospital for surgery having become quite ill with a hernia. Since then he has remained at home with his brothers and continues to go from strength to strength. He continues to gain weight and is now (mid July) about 5.5kilos (11lbs). Of course, this is not quite the end of the story as he needs to be closely monitored and and his development checked for some time by the staff at St. Michaels. Louis has been an extraordinary baby and has battled through so much in his first few months.

St Michaels Neo-Natal unit covers the entire S West of the UK and cares for the poorliest new born babies from Gloucester to Cornwall and S Wales. They look after 100's of babies every year and so much of this is only made possible by donation. Unbelievably the NHS Trust only pays for staff and overhead costs. All equipment and other costs must be met through donation.

The Above and Beyond charity ensures that every penny raised goes directly to the unit for spending on the equipment that they need. 

BY SUPPORTING ME IN THIS FOOLISH ENDEAVOUR YOU WILL BE DIRECTLY  BENEFITING MANY 100'S OF BABIES THAT WILL GO THROUGH ST. MICHAELS IN THE FUTURE JUST AS LOUIS HAS SO CLEARLY BENFITTED FROM THE GENEROSITY OF OTHERS IN THE PAST. 

I should just mention that those of you who know me well will realise that I am overweight, unfit and will also be the only woman member of the team to attempt this challenge so I will be really earning whatever support you can kindly give. 

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Above & Beyond Charities gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Thank you so much in advance!

Please sponsor me now!