I need your help to raise money for a cause that is very dear to my heart. 

Some of you will be familiar with my story. In 2010, my three children were involved in a head-on collision when they were being driven home from primary school by their grandmother. People said it could have happened to anyone, but it didn’t. It happened to my family. They were my children.

• My eldest daughter Alexandra came out unscathed physically but is still so raw.
• My little four year old son, Adam, lost his life that day, on the roadside, infront of his sisters.
• And my middle child, Holly, almost died too. She somehow miraculously survived and is now confined to a wheelchair, for what doctors tell me is forever.

I don’t believe in that kind of forever. And ever since that day I’ve been raising money to help support the Spinal Cord Injury Research Facility at Auckland University through the charity of which I am a trustee - Catwalk (www.catwalk.org.nz). And I’m incredibly buoyed by the ground-breaking work they’re doing at this facility to get people like Holly walking again.

This is the reason I run and it’s why I’m going back to run the New York Marathon again this year, for the 4th time (The 3rd time had me complete it in crutches with my sister, as per the photo).

I’m not a scientist and I can’t help find the cure for my daughter’s injury but what I can do is help raise money to fund this brilliant team of New Zealand scientists who’re working desperately hard to find a cure for spinal cord injury. I owe it to my daughter.

How close are we to a cure? I believe we’re close. New Zealand is starting to emerge as a world leader on this and I know we’re going to get there. In fact, 2018 may be the year when a major announcement is made, which I do not want to pre-empt, but it will place this country at the forefront of research breakthrough. I clearly have a vested interest but at the same time I am a realist too. I absolutely believe this will happen and so do the experts, and I want to be a part of it when it does. 

Please donate funds to me or any other team members and let's kick this thing forward. For my daughter and for all others who are confined to a wheelchair.