About The Teckentrup Depot (UK)
Company overview
On June 11th 2010 Jim Rodger a director of the Teckentrup Depot will set off on the DELOITTE RIDE ACROSS BRITAIN challenge from John O Groats to Lands End. The challenge involves riding (on a bicycle, no engines involved) between 100 and 130 miles a day for 9 days (none of this relay nonsense changing riders every 2 hours like on the recent Sport Relief race!). He will arrive in Lands End on the 20th June 2010, in all a mammoth 1008 miles.
Jim’s son Matthew is 7 and attends Anderton Primary School in Adlington, Chorley. In Matthew’s class there is a little girl whose name is Emily Atkins. Emily is currently being treated at Alder Hey children’s hospital. Because of Emily, Matthew’s school has adopted Alder Hey’s renal unit as its charity during 2010 and Jim wants to raise money to help the cause.
This is Emily's story
Emily began to feel unwell in the run up to Christmas 2008, symptoms of tiredness, loss of appetite, pains and generally feeling unwell were put down to the winter virus that was going around school, but when a 6 year old can't get up on Christmas morning to see what Santa has brought, you know something’s seriously wrong. A visit to the GP on Christmas Day was diagnosed as a chest infection but on Boxing Day she was taken to Preston Hospital where they discovered she was in heart failure and seriously ill. Blood tests revealed Emily’s kidneys weren’t working correctly and further investigations at Alder Hey found that Emily had End Stage Renal Failure (ESRF), an irreversible Kidney condition, meaning dialysis or a new kidney were Emily’s only chance of life. The news was devastating.
What followed was over a year of treatments, operations and daily dialysis. The emotional and physical stress endured by the family in caring for Emily and her younger sister Charlotte, running a home and holding down jobs was immense.
This summer, Emily’s dad is preparing to undergo surgery and give one of his kidneys to his daughter. Emily will hopefully then be able to live life as an active 7 year old instead of being confined to the dialysis regime, no more food and fluid restrictions.
Emily wouldn’t be here today without the amazing care, she and her family have received from the staff at the Alder Hey Renal Ward. Their expertise, understanding and cheerfulness are returning Emily to the bright and happy little girl she once was.
When you visit Alder Hey you can't help getting emotional. For many children Alder Hey is a normal way of life, hard for most of us to imagine when we are blessed with a healthy fit child; but a lifeline for families with sick children. No call is unnecessary, no question trivial, total support and understanding throughout.
If you would like to sponsor Jim please go to http://www.justgiving.com/teckentrupflyer Look out for the next edition to find out how much Jim raised and for the all important photos! Or you can follow his progress on his blog at the above link. No pressure then!
Other Links
http://www.imagineappeal.com/
http://www.rideacrossbritain.com/
