On the 13th of October I will be running the Manchester half marathon. As someone who was unable to run 1km at the start of the year and hated running I decided to set myself a challenge. Why would I do this to myself you may ask ….

Back in December 2022, as some of you maybe aware I nearly lost my amazing friend, Ailish, due to Sepsis.

Without going into all the details, on Saturday 17th December Ail’s was rushed into hospital and got admitted to Royal Preston ICU, as her tongue had swollen and she was struggling to breathe … along with not being able to recognise her mum and thinking the paramedics were kidnapping her (at least we can giggle about it now).

After a couple of days she seemed to be doing well and then all of a sudden she took a turn for the worst .

On Christmas Day her family received the heartbreaking news that there was nothing more they could do for her. As you can imagine this was absolutely devastating for all of Ailish’s family and friends. However, one consultant was not for giving up, Ail’s ended up being ventilated. Followed by 6 plasma exchanges and he gave her a round of chemo. That consultants decision saved her life, quite literally!!

On the 30th December Ail’s was taken off the ventilator and was able to breathe again on her own. Ailish was a true fighter and was not for giving in.

For Ailish’s amazing family and all her beautiful friends this was a truly heartbreaking time. I told myself everyday I sat next to her bed, rocking to her heartbeat like some crazy lady, that I would do anything I could to give back to ALL the amazing staff on Royal Preston ICU. They were absolutely incredible with each and every one of us that went to visit Ailish. I count my lucky stars everyday that I still have this amazing lady in my life.

Therefore, here I am attempting to smash a half marathon in 3 months time, hopefully I won’t be walking all the way. I would really appreciate it if you could all support me in my mission of giving back to Royal Preston ICU. Please share my post far and wide and donate where you can, however big or small, it would really mean the world 🌍