Lucy Mcgarr

I’m running 100K in August/September for GOSH Charity! 

I’m challenging myself to run 100 kilometres this August/September to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity). Ideally I would be doing this entire challenge in September. However, I’m recovering from a herniated disc and so I need to take this slowly - but I’m determined to get to 100K before the end of September.

For those that don’t know our story… 

Our little Ollie was diagnosed with Sagittal Craniosynostosis when he was  8 weeks old. This meant his sutures had already fused together before he was born. He had no soft spot and his head was shaped like a rugby ball. This was not picked up at birth but when Ollie was 8 weeks old he was hospitalised with RSV and this is when a consultant also noticed his head shape. 

Fast forward 4 weeks and we were seen at GOSH by the amazing Cranio team who confirmed his diagnosis. At the age of 3 months, one day before Covid lockdown, Ollie had surgery on his skull where they implanted springs to force the sutures back open so the brain had room to grow. His head shape immediately improved. The springs remained in place for three months and then removed. 

Everyone from the booking team to the nurses and consultants at GOSH were amazing. We still see them every year for check ups and will continue to do so until Ollie is 10yrs old. Apart from the scar on his head, you would never know Ollie endured all of this. 

Without this treatment, Ollie’s brain would not have been able to develop properly and this would have led to behavioural and learning difficulties.  

We are so lucky to have access to some of the best neurosurgeons in the world and all under the NHS. 

But Ollie isn’t the only one who relies on the care at GOSH… 

Every day brings new challenges at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Every day, around 750 seriously ill children and young people are seen at GOSH from all over the UK for life-changing treatment and care. Every day, doctors and nurses battle the most complex illnesses, and the brightest minds come together to achieve pioneering medical breakthroughs.

And with every kilometre I run, I’ll be helping GOSH Charity give seriously ill children the chance of a better future.

This extraordinary hospital has always depended on charitable support, so please help me to achieve my goal by giving whatever you can; no amount is too small to make a difference.