Running for Katy

As some of you may know, our daughter Eloise, recently spent a term at a school in Kenya. Whilst she was there, she was involved in a horrible incident and only narrowly escaped significant harm. However, a good friend of hers - Katy - was not so lucky and was seriously injured. Having not planned to use the London Marathon to raise money, Katy's situation, together with her family's warmth and kindness towards Eloise, has compelled me to do what I can to help her. Any donation will be incredibly well received and go a long way to help Katy with her long journey of recovery ahead. Read on for more details.

Katy's story:

On the morning of Thursday 20 March, Katy Kunyada, a 14 year old student at St Andrew’s Turi, Kenya, was meeting with other scholarship students from years 9 and 10 to support the breakfast programme in one of the local schools in the Rift Valley. All the students, and staff, involved were excited about the trip.

However, at approximately 0600hrs, with no warning or chance to move from the area, a large branch from a tree fell onto the waiting students and staff. It was immediately clear that Katy had sustained significant injuries.

She sustained serious injuries to her liver, abdomen, skull, neck and back. She was initially taken to Nakuru hospital, but was soon airlifted to Nairobi, where she remains in the ICU unit at Aga Khan Hospital. The surgeons, doctors and nurses are working around the clock to support Katy and the initial operations to address the internal bleeding have been a success. However, there is a long journey ahead for Katy and her family. Unlike in the UK, there is no national health service in Kenya, and Katy's family has to cover the vast majority of medical expenses.

Katy is a talented sports woman, representing the school in athletics, hockey, netball and rugby, she is also an outstanding musician and academic scholar.