Hi everyone!

Nisa and I have taken on the challenge this year of running the Robin Hood half marathon. Not just for fun, though we are enjoying the training!

We've decided to do this for what is a truly great cause, and a cause that is extremely close to our hearts.

This beautiful boy is Robin, my nephew (Nisa’s son). He was born June 2nd of 2023 and on the 1st December 2023 at the age of 6 months old he was officially diagnosed with a type of cancer called Langerhans’ Cell Histiocytosis.

Robin was initially admitted to Queens Medical Centre on November 21st and it took 11 days of tests and terrifying conversations with doctors before he was diagnosed, because this is a very rare disease and Robin had a severe presentation. The disease was in his ears, skin, liver, spleen, bone marrow, bones and lung. Throughout December he was extremely poorly while his team of doctors worked very hard to find the best treatment for him.

Very fortunately for us though; they found the right treatment and he started his current chemo plan on the 29th December 2023.

Fast forward to now (June 2024) and Robin is, more often than not, his normal happy playful self despite the majority of his time being spent in the hospital, on ward E39.

We are so immensely grateful for the incredible care and hard work of the staff on the ward and we could not ask for a better team of people to be taking care of our beautiful boy.

At the time of writing this, Robin has just turned 1 year old. Since being admitted on November 21st, he has spent over 150 days in the hospital, and just under 60 days at home. All but 7 of those days in hospital have been spent on E39 and that number continues to increase while he fights this disease ...

So to get to the point of sharing our story, me and Nisa put our heads together to think of a way to give something back. To thank the incredible doctors, the amazing nurses - all the staff on the ward - for the amazing work they do. The past 6 months have honestly been the most terrifying and emotional 6 months of our families lives, but being surrounded everyday by such kind and compassionate souls, has made is that little bit easier to cope.

It has to be said, that the other children on the ward, and their families, basically living along side us, have become a kind of family of their own to us during this journey, and none of that would be possible without the help of donations and fundraising like this for the staff and resources available on E39.

And so we call to you all to help us in our mission to give back by donating any amount you can give to help make Robin’s - and for too many other children's - journey that little bit less scary