Great Ormond St Hospital (GOSH) quite literally saved Charlie's life. The five weeks that we spent there were probably the worst weeks of our life, but thanks to the skill of the amazing surgeons, led by Mr Edward Kiely, and the care and dedication of the wonderful nurses and doctors, Charlie came through it. Immediately after surgery, we were told by Mr Kiely that there was virtually no hope of Charlie surviving, and he was baptised. Over the next 5 weeks, there were many ups and downs - his kidneys shut down due to the trauma, he caught a nasty hospital infection and he had severe jaundice that wouldn't respond to treatment but finally we were allowed to take him home. It was quite a scary moment!

Since then, Charlie has gone from strength to strength. We weren't sure for a long time what the long term prognosis would be, and whether there would be any lasting impact from the start he'd had. But today he's a healthy 29 year old, enjoying life, about to get married. And that's all thanks to GOSH. (View gallery to see photos of Charlie's progress)

GOSH is one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, treating seriously ill children from all over the UK.

This extraordinary hospital has always depended on charitable support to give seriously ill children the best chance to fulfil their potential. Your donation will go towards

• helping fund wards and medical facilities designed around children,

• funding pioneering research to tackle complex childhood illnesses,

• funding the most advanced equipment to treat the toughest and rarest conditions and

• providing services that make life in hospital as normal as possible for children and their families

In September and October this year, we're walking from Manchester, along the canal network, to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London. We're planning to arrive at Great Ormond Street on Charlie's 30th birthday,

We really hope that you can support us by making a donation, by joining us on the walk, or both!

Thanks

Catherine and Garry xx