This past Easter, I spent over two weeks in the ICU with meningoencephalitis. Thanks to the incredible doctors and nurses there, they saved my life. I will forever be grateful for the care and kindness they showed me during an incredibly frightening time for me and my family. There are too many of them to name, but I will always remember their support.

Though the journey has been challenging, I'm so thankful to be here with the outcome I have. As many of you know, running has been my outlet for years. One of my fears when I left the hospital was that I might never run again. But I took on the challenge of Couch to 5k and reached my goal in August! I initially signed up for the Run Reigate 5k as my target, but now that I've reached it, I want to do more: I want to raise money for the hospital that acted so quickly and saved my life.

Update: Having been in touch with the charity today (10/9/24) they have provided information on how the team would like to spend money raised… extract from the email below…

There’s a few things the team are hoping to do, which you donations will be a huge help towards – the big thing is hopefully to launch ‘memory boxes’ to help families who tragically lose a loved one, often unexpectedly. The boxes will directly benefit families coping with the unexpected loss of a loved one in the ICU, by providing them with meaningful keepsakes and resources, including books that help children understand and process their grief, and soft toys that offer comfort, and other thoughtful items such as inkless handprint kits, supplies for locks of hair, memory boxes, forget-me-not seeds. The team are looking to get the essentials to start creating these boxes for families. Should be a really lovely thing to be able to provide for families at a difficult time.

The second thing is they would love to make the family/visitors room more comfortable. Sounds like your family very much understand how important that room is. We’d love to help the team with gradually improving that room, so it’s as comfortable as can be for families with a loved one in intensive care.

So – your fundraising honestly will be so so helpful to the team, and very much appreciated.

If you could spare £1 or £2, it would mean the world to me and support the team that helped me through such a difficult time. Thank you for considering a donation.