Hi my name is Honey, I am 13 years old, I live in Merseyside & I am raising money for Alder Hey. In 2021(age 11)after a normal day at school I came home with swelling on the palms of my hands and feet, after a visit the walk-in, we were sent the hospital. By 7pm that night I was unable to use my legs at all - I could no longer walk and no one knew why. Whatever was happening to me worked its way up my body at a rapid rate. First a swelling or rash would appear and then I would lose the use of that body part, shoulders, arms, fingers, neck. And whilst this was happening we had no diagnosis. This meant no treatment and this went on for six weeks until I ended up in critical care on ventilators with no dr or consultant knowing what to do. All hope was lost I could no longer breathe without equipment to help me as my insides were now shutting down aswell as my outside. I know my mum and dad were there non stop because I could hear them but I could no longer see them or communicate with them… it was in the midst of lockdown so only one at a time could be there with me. I was finally granted an emergency transfer to Alder Hey hospital on the 8th of May. It was a risky move as they weren’t sure I would survive the ambulance journey but remaining at the hospital were I was l, that doesn’t have children’s intensive care facilities would of meant i would almost certainly die. On arriving at Alder Hey I was taken straight to intensive care and they had 17 Drs and Nurses in that room ready for me. They saved my life that day. Had it not been for that room full of people I would not be here… Within 6 hours of treatment I was responding and able to talk back a little… they couldn’t believe it! I kind of remember bits and bobs even though I couldn’t move I could hear and it was crazy when I could finally open my eyes. The doctors looked like what I’d pictured in my head! From then I was assigned an amazing consultant and within a couple of weeks I could go home! I was still in a wheelchair and we still have no certain diagnosis. I am left with a few tiny scars & a bit of a turn in one leg from the muscle damage, but there was a time when I spent weeks in a wheelchair & my parents were told they didn’t know if I would even be able to walk again. I am so grateful and feel so lucky to be here. These last two years I have struggled with my confidence and to feel settled in big school like loads of girls my age, there have been so many times I have felt insecure, especially about the way I walk. We’re always blaming ourselves and like looking inward when we don’t fit in and teenagers can be mean. These last two years I have spent a LOT of time off school even changing schools just because I couldn’t handle the confrontation every day it was affecting my work and that just made me feel even worse! Anyway my mum entered me in the Miss Teen GB pageant and at first I wasn’t so sure I am not the most confident of girls, but so far the experience with Miss Teen GB has been amazing & I actually got through to the final round and right now I am Miss Teen Junior Merseyside! All the girls taking part have to have a specific charity they feel they want to donate to and I knew straight away I wanted to choose Alder Hey. We are so so lucky to have this hospital on our doorstep and I would love to do something to give back. so I have decided that on the 20th of August, I am going to get these little wobbly legs up to the top of Snowdon! And I was hoping to raise some money towards it in the process, I can’t think of a better cause. I could not be prouder to be part of the city that is home to Alder Hey that helps kids like me from all over the country every single day. They are just incredible and I am forever grateful!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.