CCLG is the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group. An important charity that invests in research and education for cancer in children.

Like for our child Toby, who at age 2, needed to start fighting for his life against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).

In October 2022, I decided I wanted to participate in a charity event to raise awareness and money for CCLG to personally help fight against the disease that entered our lives on 17th March 2020.

The problem was most of the charity events involved running 5 or 10km, and I was very unfit.

Living in hospital with Toby during treatment, parents are not actually fed, so you rely on fast easy options which is detrimental, and this made a huge impact on my weight gain. For those hard inpatient stays I would choose quick options from vending machines so I never had to leave my baby’s side. Parents have the option to leave the ward to go to a shop, but I could never be apart from Toby. Especially in the beginning - we entered the cancer world while the actual world met Covid. My support network was also on the other side of this world in Australia, so feeling isolated was an understatement.

Physically but also mentally.

I had been so busy nursing Toby and trying to keep the family afloat - fighting fires that seemed to come in every direction - that in October 2022, I finally needed something to motivate me; to help me assist Toby’s journey in a new way.

Brody, our 12 year old, helped me to start walking. We managed 200m the first day. He then made it into a game by kicking a small pebble to one another and suddenly we were at 1km! Slowly since October I have been extending that distance, regularly making that daily walk. Brody stopped after a week 🤣 and I now own actual running clothes and trainers, and walking 5KM a day.

I recognised that I wanted to be in a position that allowed me to actually complete a charity marathon. Finish it and not have Andrew come pick me up from behind a tree somewhere!

I saw this challenge - however I read it as 600 KM in 6 months not £600. Confident, that is a lie, I was scared but I applied, and the charity explained to me that it was £ not KM but do you know what - I am going to do both. I can do both!

I would like to raise over £600, but ideally £2000 would be beneficial for CCLG’s charity in cancer to help fund research for children, by walking/jogging and eventually running a total of 600KM in 6 months.

And I need YOUR support. I’ve been quiet since I started the 600km in May, not telling anyone about my intended challenge, because really I needed to make sure I could achieve the target.

However, the basis of anything I will ever do is about bringing awareness for Childhood Cancer.

I am an advocate for blood testing, in order to get that early diagnosis for all children. It is important and still not utilised as a first option. That needs to change.

The 3 month delayed diagnosis our baby personally experienced will forever haunt me and I constantly ask myself why I didn’t fight harder for an immediate answer - especially for a blood test when I knew something was wrong. It will always be my regret and perhaps I am numbing that pain just a little by conquering 600km via the pavement for this cause.

We are also still dealing with toxic chemicals in the treatment plan that need updating and replacing. Research is SO important in understanding this disease and ensuring the treatment of it, is especially kinder to the bodies of our children - instantly and long term.

So if you are not able to donate then PLEASE PLEASE share my story anyway - the more people that understand Childhood Cancer is out there, and it is not that rare - the better. Awareness is key. The amount of people I meet on my walks, some ask why I am aways there - and certainly wearing my CCLG T-Shirt helps start important conversations. I’m not just that lady walking in the rain every day, some of them understand now that I am Toby’s mum and I am out there walking in my own way to help make a difference.

Finally, I really hope you can support and help this charity the best you can, and also think of me in the Scottish rain/snow/sleet (we had our week of Summer in June) in the coming months leading to the 8th November 2023. Any amount counts xx

ALSO my LAST 5km in this challenge will be run somewhere very special and important to me, so I hope you hang in there and cheer me on to that point.

However much I can raise will be helping to fund life-saving childhood cancer research. My baby boy thanks you xxx

💕 if donating could you please leave a comment with an amazing song you love that I could walk to! My playlist needs help - it has got so desperate that I’m listening to some of Andrew’s terrible 80’s stuff 🤣

I need some power walking music!!