Hi Everyone, My name is Rhiannon- I am the proudest Mummy of 2 Boys, Oliver who is 6 and Alby who is 3.

When I fell pregnant with Alby we were delighted, we couldn’t wait to give Oliver a sibling and for all of our adventures as a family of 4.

Our whole world came crashing down when Alby made his unexpected entrance to the world at just 33 weeks. We were informed shortly after that Alby was in end stage kidney failure and would require dialysis to stay alive until he was Old enough to receive a kidney transplant.

At just 10 days Old Alby was transferred to QMC where he stayed on the children’s pediatric renal ward, E17, until he was well enough to come home- 2 days before Christmas!

The care Alby received on E17 was exceptional. We have spent a lot of time on e17 in Alby’s short life, the nurses have become our extended family, they have shared our joy and held us through hard times. They have celebrated Alby's birthday with us, buying him cards and gifts, decorating his bed space and they always go the extra mile to make Alby’s time in hospital as comfortable and as pleasant as can be.

we have met so many other families on similar journeys to ours who also spend so much of their time on the ward with their children. The ward rely on the generosity of others to provide essentials for the ward such as Toys, DVDs, books, clothing, toiletries and kitchenware for the use of the patients and their families.

Therefore I have decided, inspired by Kidney research to Run 120km throughout the month of April to raise money for E17.

whatever money we raise will go to buying whatever we can from the wards Amazon wishlists to make the stay of patients and their families more comfortable in uncertain circumstances.

I found a love for running at the end of last year in an attempt to be a bit healthier ahead of donating my kidney to Alby, unfortunately the transplant didn’t go ahead but I found running to be a great distraction from the daily struggles of parenting a medically complex child. With this being said I am by no means a seasoned runner and find my self gasping at the end of a 5K so this will certainly be a challenge!

if you are able to donate, I appreciate it greatly however a bit of moral support will also go a long way!

Albys positive outlook on life is my biggest motivator. He relies on dialysis for 10 hours every night but he never complains and to look at him you wouldn’t know he is fighting a serious chronic illness. If that isn’t reason enough to smash this challenge I’m not sure what is!!

On behalf of myself, Alby and all of Alby’s kidney friends, thank you!!