Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As many of you know my son Oliver is diagnosed with ARFID ( Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)

Oliver’s story started at the stage of weaning, he never really enjoyed this as a baby and it was a real struggle to get him to eat at all. As he grew into a toddler (and gained willpower) trying to get Oliver to eat became impossible and although we along with the health professionals involved with his care tried every avenue to coax Oliver to eat nothing worked. Unfortunately he was hospitalised severely dehydrated and malnourished. The decision was made to start tube feeding. For over 4 months this was via an NG tube before he had surgery at Alder Hey for a gastrostomy. He is now entirely reliant on his peg tube for all his nutrition and fluids.

Oliver’s case is severe and he has not eaten any food orally in over a year. Oliver does not drink either and only occasionally will take some milk by mouth but never water or juice etc. Oliver struggles daily with the sounds and smells and sight of people eating and food in general. This condition impacts so many children and adults and it really is not well known about

ARFID awareness UK is a charity that aims to support and educate around ARFID

I have decided to challenge myself to raise money for both Alder Hey children’s hospital who have helped us and Oliver so much and ARFID AWARENESS UK. I am far from a runner and this half marathon is a huge challenge for me but I know I will do Oliver proud ❤️

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.