Gina Woods from Chertsey added a real splash of colour to her weekend by taking part in a Colour Run at Kempton Park racecourse yesterday. The mum of five was joined by her 13 year-old daughter, Brooke and three other friends and together they raised an amazing £1167 for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) a cause very close to Gina’s heart.
“Our two year-old son Freddy has the rare liver disease, biliary atresia, and he has just been put on the liver transplant list,” she explains. “It’s meant that he has spent many weeks in hospital, and we know that there will be more to come. It’s tough on the whole family and CLDF have been there all along with support and information for us.
“When I’ve been in Kings College Hospital with Freddy, CLDF’s families’ officer Lois has been in to see us and her help was amazing. She had so much time for us. Sometimes when you’re in a situation that is very scary and unknown, all you need is someone to just take the time to listen to you. I know that CLDF are there for every family like us and will continue to be there for Freddy and I wanted to give something back.
“I thought the Colour Run would be a fun way to support CLDF and I persuaded Freddy’s godparents and another good friend to join me and Brooke to raise as much as we can.
“We’re not the most athletic of people so we knew a 5K run would test us but we thought we could walk if we needed to, and being sprayed with colour every kilometre would make it fun!
We were right – it was tough but also funny and amazing. I think we all fell over at some point but most of the time that was through laughing! Seeing our Freddy’s little face at the finish line and knowing how well our fundraising has gone made it all worthwhile.”
Alison Taylor, Chief Executive of Children’s Liver Disease Foundation commented: “CLDF is the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases, by providing information and emotional support, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. In order to do this however, we rely on voluntary donations, so we’re delighted that Gina, Brooke and their friends did the Colour Run for us. They have raised a fantastic amount and we’re so glad they enjoyed the experience.”
You can still support Gina by going to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/teamfreddy2019
For more information on CLDF visit childliverdisease.org.
