The 14 runners â each with their own very personal stories and reasons for running â completed Sundayâs Marathon on behalf of Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT) in what is one of the most celebrated events in the London calendar with over 50,000 runners coming together to raise money for a sea of good causes.
The total raised for ACT so far is just over ÂŁ30,000, with donations still coming in.
The ACT Cheer Squad
Thanking all of the charityâs runners, Bridget Parr, ACTâs Community Fundraising Co-ordinator, said:
“All of them did amazingly. To be able to support them over the last year has been a real honour for me, just to be part of their journey. They are all so inspiring. They all have their own reasons for running â from people whose children have been ill or had life-saving operations, to another running in memory of a friend they lost, to one of our runners, who broke her neck and wasnât sure she would ever be able to walk again, much less run, so to be there with her family when she passed our cheer point, was very emotional.â
Bridget was part of the ACT âcheer squadâ along with the charityâs Head of Community Fundraising, Donna Lee-Willis, positioned to the side of St Paulâs Church in Shadwell â so able to cheer runners at both the 13.5-mile mark and the 22.5-mile mark.
Thanking all of the amazing runners, Donna Lee-Willis, Head of Community Fundraising at ACT, said:
âLondon Marathon is by far one of my favourite events of the year. Watching thousands of people run, walk, jog the streets of London all for causes close to their hearts is emotional and inspiring. I cannot thank Team Addenbrookes enough – you are all simply incredible and we are all super proud of you. I have been cheering on runners at this event for 22 years and every year it fills me with total admiration. The money you have raised for ACT will enable us to continue making our hospital great. THANK YOU SO MUCH.â
All 14 ACT runners completed Sundayâs marathon, but for one, Sarah Barnard-Mitcham, it proved a real challenge after spraining her ankle on a water bottle at the start. She wasnât feeling great around the 13-mile mark but walked with her sister â and carried on despite not feeling great, completing the 26.2-mile challenge in just over six hours.
Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust also got a mention in live coverage of the event when Liza Putwain was interviewed by BBC Sport reporter, Jeanette Kwakye, on the day, interviewing her on her way round the course.
Liza (pictured left) wanted to run for Addenbrookeâs as a way of thanking staff who cared for her after she broke her neck in a freak accident when she was flipped from an inflatable object during an assault course. The mum-of-three had been running the course in memory of her husband Ian, who had died unexpectedly eight months earlier.
Describing how amazing it was to be part of the London Marathon, the film studies teacher from just outside Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk said:
“It sounds corny but when you are running it, it just feels like the whole city just loves each other in a world where thereâs so much negativity at the moment. It feels like you are a Premiership footballer because everybody is calling your name and wanting you to win. Itâs like they are on your team and cheering you on. I heard âLiza come on you can do itâ thousands and thousands of times on Sunday.â
She said the special, emotional moments for her were seeing her three children, Ella, 17, Sophie, 13, and Charlie 11, on the side lines with her sister and niece. Other memorable moments including spotting two signs â Remember Your Why â and one that, she says, is her own mantra â We Can Do Hard Things â which is not surprising when you hear Lizaâs own story.
“I say it all the time, to my kids particularly, and they say it back to me when Iâm struggling. Itâs like we say, we can do hard things. Life is tough but we can get through this, we can do it, so when I saw that sign I was like âoh my gosh, thatâs my mantra.â
Asked what she is planning next, Liza said she is thinking of applying for a ballot place in the 2026 London Marathon but deferring for a year. She is also planning to run a half marathon with her niece â and do a HYROX event too.
âI was talking to another runner and we were saying it was like childbirth. Itâs like, in that moment when you have just run the London Marathon, youâre like, âoh my gosh, that was horrific I will never do that again. And then you get the post marathon high and youâre like, âthis is amazingâ and before you know it you are signing up to do it again.â
Just some of the more personal reasons runners had for taking part include:
Will Hemsley, running for ACT to thank staff at Addenbrookeâs Hospital who cared for his close friend Josh, who sadly lost his life in 2016, aged just 18.
Liza Putwain, with her story above.
Alfie Lowe who fundraised for ACT last year after his friend Rhuey was diagnosed with Hodgkinâs Lymphoma, raising ÂŁ1,500 for the charity by hiking the Edale skyline. This year, he ran the London Marathon in memory of his friend Alex Paterson, who they lost last year â saying: âAlex was one of the most loyal, caring and genuine people I knew, and heâs left a giant hole in a lot of our hearts.â
Chris Loveday whose wife Carly underwent a live kidney transplant at Addenbrookeâs in 2010. Carly fell pregnant in 2011 and was seen at regular intervals by both the transplant team and specialists at the Rosie. Nearly 2 years after her transplant, Carly was admitted to the Rosie with complications and the family were told to expect the worst â and daughter Flo was born by emergency C-section, 7 weeks premature and with life-threatening complications. Flo was cared for initially on NICU for 2 weeks and remained in special care in the Rosie for a further 3 weeks. Thanking Addenbrookeâs and the Rosie for all their care, Chris shared the news that this year, daughter Flo becomes a teenager!
Sarah Barnard-Mitcham (pictured below) who was treated at Addenbrookeâs after being diagnosed with High-Grade DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in Situ) following a mammogram. Describing the care she received at Addenbrookeâs, Sarah said: âThroughout this process, the care Iâve received at the Cambridge Breast Unit at Addenbrooke’s has been nothing short of exceptional.â The hospital is also supporting her sister, Stephanie, as she navigates Early Onset Alzheimerâs, having been diagnosed at just 47. Sarah added: âOver the years, Addenbrooke’s has supported not just my family but countless others in our community. Thatâs why Iâve chosen to fundraise for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust.â
ACT thanked all this yearâs âamazing runnersâ who were: Alex Tarrant, Chris Loveday, Will Hemsley, Richard York-Weaving, Josh Scarlett, Michelle Meads, Liza Putwain, Jack Smith, Ben Smith, Alfie Lowe, Amy De Selincourt, Darren Godfrey, Sarah Barnard-Mitcham, and Tanya Wagstaff.
All of the money raised from Sundayâs marathon will go to Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT), the official charity for Addenbrookeâs Hospital and the Rosie. ACT funds cutting-edge equipment, groundbreaking research, and improvements to the environment for both staff and patients, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide.
** If you would like to run for Team Addenbrookeâs in the 2026 London Marathon, sign up now for one of ACTâs charity places.
Runners who would like to apply for a place have until Monday 9 June at 9am. Anyone who is shortlisted will then be offered a telephone interview to talk about their fundraising plans and reasons for running â with TEAM ADDENBROOKES announced the week commencing Monday 23 June.
In some exciting news that we can share today â Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT) has helped fund an advanced AI feature for a groundbreaking hand-held newborn eye screening device.
This innovation aims to further improve the accuracy of diagnosing congenital cataracts â the leading cause of avoidable childhood blindness worldwide â when babies are examined in maternity wards shortly after their birth.
Although part of an ongoing clinical trial, early findings look positive.
As part of our work, ACT doesnât just fund new high-tech equipment for Addenbrookeâs and the Rosie but also groundbreaking research like the NeoCam, which Dr Louise Allen, consultant paediatric ophthalmologist at Addenbrookeâs Hospital, has been working on.
ACT helped fund early development and testing of the first prototype device â known as CatCam â and later awarded an innovation grant so that the AI feature can be jointly funded with 42 Technology (42T), a product design and innovation consultancy, based near Cambridge, that is helping Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) to develop the AI feature.
Paul White, our Director of Communications and Impact, said: âOne of our remits as the official charity for Addenbrookeâs is to help fund researchers like Dr Allen with their early research work and clinical trials, often investing at a stage where others are not quite ready to come on board.â
âBy helping to fund innovative work like this in the early stages means we have the potential to help medical professionals like Dr Allen to make some quite innovative, groundbreaking discoveries within their field.â
To find out more about this exciting new development, read 42Tâs news release below.
NEWS RELEASE BY 42 TECHNOLOGY (42T)
42 Technology (42T) is helping Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) to develop an advanced AI feature for a groundbreaking hand-held newborn eye screening device. This innovation aims to further improve the accuracy of diagnosing congenital cataracts â the leading cause of avoidable childhood blindness worldwide â when babies are examined in maternity wards shortly after their birth.
A prototype of the Neocam ophthalmic imaging device is currently being evaluated in a multi-centre clinical trial funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) as part of the Digital Imaging versus Ophthalmoscopy (DIvO) study. This five-year study, involving 30 NHS maternity units across England, aims to determine whether Neocamâs digital imaging technology can improve the detection of congenital cataracts compared with the standard ophthalmoscope test, which uses a bright visible light.
Photo credit: 42 Technology
Although the final study outcomes are not due to be reported until 2027, the team has already noted some early positive findings. For example, several babies have been diagnosed with rare but significant visual conditions that were missed by the standard screening tests being done at the same time.
The new AI feature will enable Neocam to immediately assess the quality of images as they are taken, providing instant feedback to maternity staff on whether a captured image is clear enough for accurate evaluation. If an image does not meet the quality required, users can simply retake it. In future, the AI could also potentially be developed to alert the screening midwife or GP to a possible cataract or other eye abnormality but this is not the prime objective for the first AI model.
The software engineering team at 42T will use 46,000 de-identified images from the DIvO study to train the machine learning model. The aim being to integrate the new edge AI algorithms into the first commercially-available eye screening units so the device can analyse images using its existing processing capability â without added costs, needing any hardware redesign or impacting device performance.
Photo credit: 42 Technology
The AI development project is being funded jointly by 42T and with an innovation grant from Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust, which also helped fund early development and testing of the first prototype device called CatCam.
Dr Louise Allen, consultant paediatric ophthalmologist at Addenbrookeâs Hospital, Cambridge and Neocamâs inventor said: âThis novel eye screening technology has been designed to be an affordable, easy-to-use tool to improve the accuracy of diagnosing congenital cataracts in babies. The new added AI feature will build on 42 Technologyâs previous design and development work, while ensuring the device is even easier for midwives and GPs to use when it is launched commercially.â
42T was appointed in 2018 to help support development of the Neocam prototype, from initial design to clinical trials. The company played a key role in developing the industrial design, user interface, system architecture, optics and electronics, as well as producing 60 prototype Neocam units for early field trials by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the UKâs leading property and business consultancies that took on the challenge of fundraising for a charity that was based miles away from some of its satellite offices has proved that the right cause and good communication can blow any challenge out of the water â after raising a staggering ÂŁ38,664.38 for the charity.
Brown&Co joined forces with Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT) in April last year, pledging to engage all their 300 employees and fundraise across every one of their 10 UK-based offices.
The firm chose to fundraise for ACT in memory of their colleague Danielle, or Dannii, Spauls, who was treated in Addenbrookeâs Hospital in Cambridge but sadly died following a short illness. As the official charity for Addenbrookeâs and the Rosie, ACT funds cutting-edge equipment, groundbreaking research, and improvements to the environment for both staff and patients, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide.
Marketing Manager Georgia Dawson, who is based in the firmâs Norwich office, said it was a âunanimous decisionâ to fundraise for ACT after losing Dannii.
Brown&Co Partner, Andrew Fundell, said: âEach year, Brown&Co selects a charity to support. Following the loss of our colleague and friend, Danielle Spauls, after a short illness, we had no hesitation in choosing ACT in recognition of the incredible care and support the hospital provided to her and her family.â
âThough Dannii was based in our Norwich office, all 10 Brown&Co offices came together in her memory, dedicating the year to fundraising for ACT. From conquering the Yorkshire Three Peaks to taking on the Oxford Half Marathon and a Norfolk coastal walk, our teams united in her honour to make a difference.â
Asked if she would recommend other firms, with satellite offices, to fundraise for ACT in this way, Georgia said: âAbsolutely, it is so worthwhile. One of our proudest moments was knowing that the money that we are fundraising is going towards funding innovation and specialist staff and specialist equipment to help people like Dannii and their families. So I would say regardless of where you are in the UK, if you wanted to become a corporate partner, I would say with ACT itâs made as easy as it can be.â
Talking about the initial work to get all the staff on board, Georgia said: âBringing all the offices together was a key focus. With our vast network, with offices across the UK and as far North as Humber, we wanted to ensure everyone felt connected. To do this, Natasha, ACTâs Corporate Partnerships Manager, set up a call with each office and made sure they all had tailored messaging and a particular focus point to drive engagement and that massively helped to not only get employees on board but also help donations come in from the local communities.â
âAs well as honouring a colleague, Natasha really stressed the importance of the research that is carried out at Addenbrookeâs – and that it will benefit beyond the Eastern region to hospitals across the whole of the UK.â
âShe also came along to our quiz at our Norwich office that was our biggest fundraising event, raising a total of ÂŁ7,000, and brought a letter with her written by one of the surgeons that had cared for Dannii, which was extremely moving. It was that extra touch that really helped to engage employees and also our clients as well.â
After 12 months of fundraising, Brown&Co presented a cheque for ÂŁ38,664.38to Natasha Robertson at their head office in Norwich.
Speaking at the event, Natasha said: âWe are so grateful for all the hard work of each and every Brown&Co employee who threw themselves into fundraising with such passion, despite some of them never having heard of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, and Addenbrookeâs Hospital. The fact that all offices came together to raise such an impressive figure shows the high esteem that Addenbrookeâs is held in and that the work it does extends beyond the region both nationally and globally.â
Georgia said fundraising across the satellite offices had brought staff closer – describing this yearâs efforts as âlarger and more collaborative than ever before.ââ
Some of the events included the Lincoln office completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks; the Norfolk offices completing a 12.5 mile coastal walk from Cromer to Cley next the Sea; the St Neots office undertaking a 24-mile bike ride from their offices to the Astra Zeneca hub on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus; and the Banbury office completing the Oxford Half Marathon. In addition to this, the Humber office hosted a clay pigeon shooting afternoon and across the board there were also quiz nights, raffle sweeps, sweepstakes, dress down days and cake sales.
BEATING the drum â quite literally – at the official launch of this yearâs 19th Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival were all the teams behind the return of this yearâs âbigger and betterâ 2025 event.
Celebrating at the festivalâs official launch at the UK head office were staff from Illumina, Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust – whose event is raising money for the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) – organisers NewWave Events and a team from CCRH.
This yearâs festival, which takes place on the River Cam at Fen Ditton on Saturday 13 September, falls during ACTâs 30th birthday year â with a new fundraising target of ÂŁ50,000 and celebrations planned to make it the âbiggest and best year yet!â Cambridge Radio will also be reporting live from the riverbank on the day.
Mark Robinson, VP and GM, UK and Ireland, Illumina said: âIllumina is delighted to once again join forces with ACT to support the 2025 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival. Last year, this fun-filled event saw an incredible amount of money raised for the new Cancer Research Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Itâs a great opportunity to give something back to the communities in which we live and work and we canât wait to smash it again this year!â
Welcoming Illumina back on board, Natasha Robertson, ACTâs Corporate Partnerships Manager, said: âWe are absolutely delighted to have Illumina as the sponsor of this yearâs Dragon Boat Festival for the second year running.â
âThis year marks the 19th year of the festival as well as our 30th birthday â so we are looking forward to making it our biggest and best yet. Last year we raised a staggering ÂŁ37,000 with 41 teams competing and this year we are looking to raise even more money for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.â
Celebrating what is a much-anticipated event in the Cambridge calendar, Natasha added: âLast yearâs event was so much fun with some amazing fancy dress costumes so we are excited to see what the teams will pull out of the bag this year and with more teams competing and looking to raise even more money for the new cancer hospital itâs just going to add to the atmosphere on the day.â
Lucy Morton, Executive Director at NewWave Events, said they were âsuper excitedâ to have Illumina back as official sponsors. âWith their support, and collaboration with the team from ACT, weâre hoping to have a sell-out event raising a record amount for the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital. Itâs such a fantastic day, so donât hesitate to get involved and enter your teams before weâre sold out!â
All the money raised by teams will go towards building the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH). The new hospital is to be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus by 2029 and will be the first specialist cancer hospital for the East of England. It will bring together clinical and research expertise under one roof â allowing clinicians to detect cancer earlier, treat it more precisely and save more lives.
Reminding people of the importance of the hospital, Elaine Chapman, Lead Advisory Nurse and Co-production Lead for CCRH, said: âI donât think there is anyone who hasnât been affected by cancer, either by experiencing your own diagnosis or seeing someone you love or know go through it. Fundraising is so important for this project, as the money raised will go directly into building a hospital that will improve the experience of patients and support research breakthroughs to treat cancer earlier with personalised medicine. Even small donations will make a big difference when added together.â
This year, Elaine â whose role is to ensure patients and both clinical and research staff are involved in the design of the new hospital â will compete for the second year running, adding: âWe are thrilled to be competing in our second Dragon Boat Race and being part of a brilliant day that raises awareness of the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital project.â
The festival takes place on the River Cam at Fen Ditton with teams of 10-15 paddling 30ft boats up the river with a drummer at the front beating time and a helm at the tail.
Races start at 10am, with a prize ceremony at the end of the day. Bankside entertainment and refreshments include traditional lion dance performances. There are also funfair style rides on the day, with sponsors Illumina hosting family-friendly, fun activities including strawberry DNA extraction.
Each team completes three heats, with the 12 fastest teams going through to the semis. Three semi-final winners and the fastest runner-up go through to the final. Each boat seats up to 10 paddlers and 1 drummer. The racecourse is a 200m straight course with each race lasting anywhere between 55 and 90 seconds, with times affected by water flow and weather conditions.
Trophies are awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place as well as to the highest placed mixed crew (minimum of five female paddlers), best dressed crew and top charity fundraiser. Medals also go to the top three crews and the highest placed mixed crew.
Lucy, from NewWave Events, said: âThe Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival is such a unique opportunity for both seasoned and new teams to experience the thrill of racing, with full equipment and guidance provided, making it accessible for everyone. We have a full day of activities planned along the riverbank to keep teams and spectators entertained, from food stalls and entertainment to fantastic prizes, including a special mini golf experience with bubbly and tear and share pizzas for the top fundraisers courtesy of The Tivoli in Cambridge. Itâs a day of community spirit, friendly competition, and supporting ACTâs invaluable work with a new fundraising target of ÂŁ50,000!â
Local property firm Cheffins is marking its 200-year anniversary by pledging ÂŁ200,000 to charity through a combination of fundraising events and donations. The majority of the funds will go towards the Cambridge Childrenâs Hospital through Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT). Cheffins aims to raise a minimum of ÂŁ100,000 for the hospital, which will provide a dedicated playroom for children undergoing treatment. This initiative aligns with Cheffins’ commitment to supporting mental health services for future generations in the region.
Established in Saffron Walden in 1825, Cheffins has grown to become one of the best know professional services firms in the region, specialising in property, land, fine arts and farm machinery sales. Like ACT, Cheffins is now focusing on the future while committing to the local community and supporting vital services throughout the region.
Bill King, Chairman of Cheffins, expressed his excitement about the fundraising efforts: âWe are thrilled to announce that we are aiming to give this significant amount of money for such an important cause and will be hosting a series of wonderful fundraising events throughout the year, while also match funding all of the charitable efforts of our staff. We are now looking to build a strong foundation for the future of Cheffins as well as the next generations of the people of Cambridgeshire and the surrounding area. We are celebrating with purpose and are proving our commitment to the community with our charitable efforts this yearâ.
The Cambridge Childrenâs Hospital will be a pioneering, purpose-built hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. It will transform healthcare and have a life-changing impact on the 1.5 million children in the East of England, the only region in the UK without a dedicated childrenâs hospital. The hospital will be the first of its kind, combining both physical and mental health services.
ACT CEO, Shelly Thake, shared her pride in partnering with Cheffins:
âWe couldnât be prouder to be partnering with Cheffins, in the year of their 200th anniversary and ACTâs 30th birthday, to raise money for the new Cambridge Childrenâs Hospital. Their passion and commitment to supporting the mental health of young people in our region, and this new hospitalâs goal of integrating physical and mental health together, in one hospital for the first time, makes this a fantastic partnership. This new hospital will save and change the lives of countless children and young people â but that can only happen with the help of supporters like Cheffins, and their wonderful colleagues and customersâ.
Cheffins have lots of exciting events and plans for the year ahead to raise money as well as awareness of the Cambridge Childrenâs Hospital and ACT. Weâre excited to see what they get up and canât wait to share the news in the future that theyâve smashed their fundraising target.
A minimum of ÂŁ20,000 is also being donated to the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation to support vital funds for young people’s mental health and wellbeing projects in the communities local to Cheffins. The remaining ÂŁ80,000 raised and gifted will be donated to various other charities nationwide.
An inspiring mother-of-three who broke her neck on an obstacle course is running this yearâs London Marathon to thank medical staff at Addenbrookeâs who she says saved her life.
Liza Putwain, 44, who lives just outside Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, was taking part in a challenge obstacle course â one she had run every year since its launch â when she was flipped from one of the obstacles and broke her neck.
She was taken to Ipswich Hospital before being transferred to Addenbrookeâs in Cambridge where she underwent surgery and stayed for her four-week recovery.
Now Liza, a film studies teacher at Abbeygate Sixth Form College in Bury St Edmunds, hopes to raise as much money as she can to thank staff who saved her life.
Liza will be running for Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT) in this yearâs London Marathon on Sunday 27 April. As the official charity for Addenbrookeâs and the Rosie, ACT funds cutting-edge equipment, ground-breaking research, and improvements to the environment for both staff and patients, above and beyond what the NHS is able to provide.
Proving all her hard work and rehabilitation has been worth it, Liza took part in the Cambridge Half Marathon earlier this month â making it her third fastest half yet, coming in with a time of 2.07.45. âI was totally gobsmacked,â she said.
Liza, whose three children were aged between 9 and 16 at the time of her accident in September 2023, had been running the obstacle course in memory of her husband, Ian (pictured left), who had died unexpectedly eight months earlier following complications that developed from a virus that the whole family had had, including their three children; daughters Ella and Sophie and son, Charlie.
Liza ran the challenge obstacle course with her daughter, Ella, and close friends, Xav and Debs and their son Max. She was less than five miles in when tragedy struck, and she was flipped from an inflatable seesaw and broke her neck.
âI knew straight away I had broken my neck. I heard it snap and then I just felt the feeling drain from my neck down. It was a massive shock and of course I just thought, âThatâs it. Game overâ.â
Lizaâs spine was realigned whilst she was still awake. She then went under general anaesthetic so metal could be placed in her neck to support her broken vertebrae.
Looking back at the care she received at Addenbrookeâs, Liza has nothing but praise for all the medical staff who cared for her along the way â from the paramedics to her surgeon and clinical staff on the ward.
âThe paramedics were amazing. I remember one of them telling me on the way there it would be really shocking when I got to hospital as there would be a whole team on me, so he really helped prepare me for what was going to happen. And itâs really weird because I donât know who any of them are, I donât know any of their names. I could walk past them in the street and not know it was them.â
âI saw some paramedics in Addenbrookeâs in the coffee shop and told them about my accident and said to them, âI know it wasnât you but I just want to tell you how much of a difference your colleague made in that moment because you will have done that for someone else and they wonât be able to thank you either and tell you what a difference you made to them at that time.â
Liza also praised the female doctor she met on her arrival. âThere was a female doctor, I donât know who she was, but she was so good. I thought I was going to be sick and I was really worried that I was going to choke because I couldnât move.â
She was taken to the Neuro Critical Care Unit (NCCU) where she spoke to a doctor who had been visiting from Africa and says: âIt occurred to me then that if this had happened to me in another place, or another time, I would be dead. Thank God for the fact I live near Addenbrookeâs and it was 2023.â
Liza also has huge praise for her surgeon, Mark Kotter – âNot just because he performed the surgery but because of how he was afterwards. He was so caring and lovely. Itâs one thing to be able to cut you open and perform the surgery, but he had so much empathy too.â
For Liza, her accident was the first time she had ever broken a bone. âIâve done lots of crazy things in the past. I grew up horse riding; I’ve done obstacle courses and coasteering where you jump off cliffs into water, but Iâd never broken any bones before.â
When she came round from surgery, she was still unable to move because of the damage to her spinal cord and had to rely on nurses to do things like scratch her nose. Despite this, she says she felt ecstatic after her operation.
âI kept thinking Iâm alive and I can talk! There was no damage to my vocal cords. My friends Jo and Pennie came to see me and we just cried because we were so happy.â
It was then she told staff in NCCU that she had planned to run the London Marathon the following April. Whilst no-one was able to conclusively tell her she would walk again, she said the hope was there. âThey were the ones who told me I could do it and that became my motivation, something to aim for.â
The feeling gradually returned in Lizaâs legs and a week after her operation she was transferred to a ward. âThey kept trying to sit me up, but I had postural hypertension, which affected my blood pressure, so I couldnât sit up for long.â
She said the dark times came when she was worrying about her kids (pictured above). âI really worried about them. My dad and sister took it in turns to stay overnight with them but Ella, who had just started sixth form, basically ran the house. Talking to her afterwards she just said she realised she had to grow up and it was down to her.â
But she said there were funny moments with her kids too. âWe messaged lots and face-timed. And as they got more used to me being here, they would send me links to Amazon to things they wanted me to buy. Another time, Ella messaged to ask if she could get another piercing and I was like, âwhateverâ.â
âAnother time, I looked at her Instagram and she was wearing a jumper that Iâd bought and not worn yet. I had to give it to her cause she looked so good in it. Other times theyâd call me up and tell me, Charlieâs done this, or Sophieâs done that. And I was like, âI cannot sort out an argument from my hospital bed.â
Liza said one of the hardest things for her following her accident was the sense of powerlessness that comes when you canât move and have to rely entirely on someone else to help you – âYou feel very infantilised because you have to ask someone to help you go to the toilet and wait until somebodyâs ready to give you a shower.â
Liza took her first tentative steps, using a walker, two weeks after her operation. âI was so scared; I was so wobbly. It was like a shuffle of a few steps to sit in a chair. But it felt amazing. I had completed marathons before, and it was that kind of level of achievement for me.â
She returned home a month after surgery with her sister and best friends there to help her. âI was just so glad to go home but at the same time so scared. I couldnât do much at all really, just a slow steady walk. I couldnât move my right arm, and I am right-handed so I had to use my left arm to lift my right arm to help me clean my teeth and I could just about wash my face. The kids would go to school and it would take me all day just to put a load of washing on and hang it out. It was very frustrating.â
Liza â who wants to be as open about her recovery as possible to help others â said her friends were amazing, even helping to shave her armpits – âIt was the first thing I wanted to do when I got home. I could lift my left arm but not my right so my friend Jo held my arm up while my other friend Pennie shaved my armpit for me.â
She said doing anything again for the first time was scary â from leaving the hospital, to going for a walk to driving, but said everyone in her local community helped by signing up for jobs on a Facebook help page – âEveryone rallied round and did so much.â
Lizaâs neck brace was removed six weeks after her surgery and she started having physio, including Pulsed Magnetic Field Therapy. Three months after her surgery, she had her first session with a personal trainer, started working with weights, and did her first run in March 2024 â six months after her accident.
âIt was so hard not to cry. I mean, I did cry. When you donât know if youâre going to be able to walk again, it feels amazing to be able to do it.â
During her recovery she fell over on a run and sprained her ankle and broke her finger and then in August last year had a cyst removed from her neck.
She ran her first half marathon in September last year, three days before the anniversary of her accident saying – âIâve run tonnes before that, but I will never forget doing that one and being able to do it.â
Lasting effects of the accident include Liza not being able to feel her fingertips on her right hand and only a couple on her left. The soles of her feet feel tingly constantly and are painful when cold, and her reactions are not as fast as they were – âThe amount of plates and cups and stuff Iâve broken because Iâm a fraction of a second too late.â
Liza is running this yearâs London Marathon on 27 April for ACT as a way of thanking all the hospital staff who helped save her life and said âIâve got loads of people coming down to watch me. Itâs going to be really emotional.â
Asked why she wanted to fundraise for ACT, Liza said: âI love Addenbrookeâs. Itâs weird because you could go one way or the other, and you could be like, I never want to see that hospital again, but I feel so safe when I am here.â
âBeing in hospital for as long as I was you just realise how much additional support is needed. Everyone is doing the best they can but the NHS is just so overstretched and itâs like I say to everybody, you just donât know when you will need it. You hope it wonât be you but at some point, it probably is going to be you or your loved ones or someone that you know.â
A leading hospital charity behind fundraising for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital has praised its runners in this yearâs TTP Cambridge Half Marathon â announcing its biggest fundraising total yet with a staggering ÂŁ150,000 raised.
Every penny raised will go towards Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trustâs multi-million pound campaign to see a new world-class cancer hospital built in the city by 2029.
The Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) is to be built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will be the first specialist cancer hospital for the East of England. It will bring together clinical and research expertise under one roof â allowing clinicians to detect cancer earlier, treat it more precisely and save more lives. Pioneering research to come out of the hospital is expected to have a far-reaching impact not just regionally, but nationally and globally too.
Donna Lee Willis, ACTâs Head of Community Fundraising, described Sundayâs event as âamazingâ, saying: âIn 2022, we had four runners and they raised ÂŁ1,267, so to go from that to 200 runners this year and raising a total of ÂŁ150,000, you just canât put into words how amazing that is.â
âLast year, we had 150 runners, who raised ÂŁ60,000 so we have more than doubled our income even though we havenât doubled our runners.â
âWe have massively grown this event and we keep getting bigger and better all the time. As an event, the Cambridge Half Marathon is really special to us and something we are very passionate about as itâs on our doorstep.â
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Praising the runners, Donna added: âI am super proud of every single runner that went out there yesterday and raised money for us and I am so proud of the team and the commitment all the staff have put in behind the event.â
âSome of the stand-out moments for me were when the runners came to thank us for how special weâve made them feel and for sharing some of their really personal stories with us. Addenbrookeâs has done so much for them and given them such a positive experience but the fact they took time out to come and thank us when actually theyâre doing something incredible and we owe them so much, it was just very emotional.â
The TTP Cambridge Half Marathon is considered to be one of the UKâs âbucket-listâ races, offering a scenic route through the historic streets of Cambridge and routing through the colleges of Cambridge University.
Among the 200 runners representing ACT on Sunday, were paediatric oncology nurse Molly Shelley (below), who ran with parents Alison and Paul as a way of thanking nursing staff on the ward where she now works, who cared for her as a child when she had leukaemia aged 3.
There were about 100 people at the charityâs cheer point in St Johnâs College including ACT staff and volunteers supported by St Johnâs, SJA and a cheerleading troupe from the Victoria Academy of Dance â buoyed along by the infectious music of the Arco Iris Cambridge Community Samba Band, ensuring every runner had a rapturous reception as they passed.
Donna said: âAll of the volunteers that came to our cheer point made each and every runner that went past feel super special and we had the Samba band there too, who we canât thank enough because of the atmosphere they bought. A lot of the students that were on site in St Johnâs got out of bed to come and watch because they could hear all the noise from the band. Some of them were still in their pyjamas and we had all the runners getting their phones out to film the cheer point and they were cheering us. It was just such a brilliant day.â
Several family members and ACT staff took part in the race including Donnaâs cousin Archie and her son Charlie along with Reece Parr, the son of another member of the fundraising team. Also running were Tom Gull, Co-Director of Philanthropy and Paul White, Director of Communications and Impact, who ran for the tenth time â completing the half marathon in 1 hour and 29 seconds, placing him in the top 7% of all runners.
Describing the experience on the day, Paul said: âThis year was my tenth time taking part in the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon, and this event is always one of the highlights of my year – but very few things come close to the experience of running than this year’s race. The weather was fantastic and meant that every mile was packed with supporters lining the roads cheering us on. And to be part of a #TeamAddenbrooke’s team of over 200 runners, all supporting Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust in raising money for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital was incredible.â
Runnersâ places on the official website page for the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon website normally go within a record time â but anyone who would like to sign up to run for Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust next year can do so TODAY by clicking here.
And if you still havenât donated â it’s not too late! If you would like to push the total raised to over ÂŁ150K please donate by clicking here.
A Paediatric Oncology nurse working back on the ward that looked after her when she had leukaemia as a child is to run this yearâs TTP Cambridge Half Marathon to raise awareness of the charity that raises funds for the hospital where she now works.
Molly Shelley, 22, a paediatric oncology nurse at Addenbrookeâs Hospital in Cambridge, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) when she was just three years old.
Diagnosed in the May of 2006, her parents had taken her to the GP and A&E on many occasions over a period of several months trying to work out what was wrong with her after the toddler started suffering from unexplained symptoms including leg pain, uncontrollable high temperatures and constant ear infections.
Molly would also bruise really easily and had all the typical rashes as well as a distended stomach prior to treatment.
Tests revealed Molly (pictured right with her sister, Daisy) had 95% leukaemia cells in her bone marrow so underwent an intense programme of six weeks of aggressive chemotherapy, which luckily put her into remission. After that she was put on a two-year treatment plan consisting of ongoing chemotherapy, lumbar punctures and blood transfusions before being given the all-clear, aged five.
Asked what she remembers, Molly said: âIâm very grateful and lucky to say that I only have positive memories of what was obviously, a very difficult time. So I feel really grateful for that.â
âThe limited memories I do have are of the nurses and my time on the ward – but as a kid, not as a poorly patient. Those memories are of being with my nurses or playing with them. I remember being in my hospital bed one time with my dad, watching a film, and the nurse came in to take a blood test and I just stuck my arm out. They didnât have to say a word.â
Molly said it was her experience as a child which pushed her into the nursing profession – âMy mum always said it was weird that I felt so comfortable in a hospital. Now I couldnât even imagine myself doing another job.â
Having graduated from University in December, Molly interviewed for her current role in January. Her interviewer was the ward manager when Molly was being treated for Leukaemia and Molly says she now knows four members of staff who were working on the ward when she was a child.
âI definitely wouldnât be nursing now it if wasnât for me having leukaemia as a child,â she said. âBut I see it as a positive as it has made me who I am today. It’s driven me into this career and made me do things I wouldnât have done otherwise.â
âObviously it affected my parents a lot more than me and now when I am on the ward I think more about my parents in that situation than myself.â
âIf I’m speaking to the families, I am always thinking about how I interact with the parents. I just think, âhow would I want my parents to have received this?â and thatâs how I go about it.â
Mollyâs Leukaemia obviously had a a big impact on all her family. Her dad, Paul, had to give up his job at the time to care for Molly; her mum, Alison, who works in HR, went to work in the NHS after Mollyâs recovery and now works for a genomics company, and sister Daisy, now studies BioMed science.
Molly is running the London Marathon in April, raising money for Leukaemia UK and Blood Cancer UK, who the family raised money for 20 years ago.
She opted to run the Cambridge Half Marathon for Addenbrookeâs official charity, Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT), after getting her place in the ballot in this yearâs half and said: âI just knew as soon as I got the place it would be so special to me to be running around the city that we are based in and to be able to run for the charity of the hospital I was a patient in. It feels very special and fitting â a full-circle kind of moment because 20 years ago I was a patient on the ward I am now a nurse on.â
Molly has decided to share her story now to help other families going through the same thing.
âThe reason I am sharing my story now is I just hope to show parents that me having Leukaemia shows I am living proof that there is light at the end of what can be a very dark tunnel. I just want to give them hope.â
Asked how she finds working with kids, she said: âKids are just so resilient, you wouldnât know they were unwell. They all have a smile on their face, they laugh with you, dance with you, they are just incredible. They are living life to the best of their ability.â
She said ward staff organise a mini disco in the corridors once a week to get everyone together and said it was one such special moment that really hit home with her.
âIâd come out of the staff room and saw all the kids had come out of their rooms and the staff had put on a bit of a mini disco in the corridor of the ward. They were all stood there with their drip stands and pumps, with all their wires and everything, and the staff were dancing with them. There was music on a speaker and a little disco ball and some lights and they were all stood in a circle holding hands, dancing â the parents, kids and staff. And itâs in that split second where you are like, âThis is what it is all about. This is why I do this job. The kids are just incredible.â
If you have been inspired by Mollyâs story and would like to make a donation to ACT, please click here.
Itâs Rare Disease Day 2025, and we are sharing a Q & A interview by Kitty Caller who carried out some work experience with us last summer.
Kitty interviewed Dr. Carmen Minea, trainee Consultant Doctor, and Miss Ruby Cross, Clinical Nurse Specialist Inherited Metabolic Disorders, from the Lysosomal Disorders Unit at Addenbrookeâs, finding out many interesting facts about rare diseases along the way.
We were intrigued to learn how rare diseases are named and whether is it possible to prevent diseases being passed on through developments in genomics. Read on to find out moreâŠ
Has ACT ever helped your department?
ACT has supported us in attending a national conference. This was highly appreciated. Participating in conferences and courses enhances our knowledge of rare diseases which then translates into better care of our patients.
What counts as a rare inherited disease?
Inherited metabolic diseases (IMD) are a group of genetic, inherited disorders of the metabolism.
A rare disease is a condition that affects less than five in 10,000 people of the general population.
How many different types of diseases do you treat?
There are over are over 500 inherited metabolic disorders. Some of those diseases are more common than others. For that reason, we only see some of these diseases in our Lysosomal Unit in Cambridge. It is not unusual to have only one patient with a particular condition.
Please can you give an example of a rare inherited disease?
Phenylketonuria, homocystinuria and maple syrup urine disease are 3 examples of inherited rare disorders which are screened for via a blood spot from a heel prick test in newborn babies.
Please can you explain the details of how these diseases are transmitted?
The majority of inherited metabolic disorders are inherited from your parents. Most frequently the parents will be healthy people with an affected copy of the gene each one. When a child inherits the two affected genes, one from each parent, they will manifest the disease. This is known as an autosomal recessive inheritance.
There are other types of inheritance where only one copy of the gene is needed from one affected parent to have the disease. This is called autosomal dominant or X-linked inheritance.
Sometimes, a mutation in the gene can happen spontaneously when the child is developing as an embryo. In this case, that child will be the first one in the family to have the disease.
Is it possible to prevent diseases being passed on through developments in genomics?
Many of our patients have the possibility to have a baby without the condition is possible using pre-implantation genetic testing. This will select the embryo which will develop into a healthy baby.
Are any inherited diseases also contagious?
No. All the diseases are passed on through genetics, not pathogens, and therefore cannot be spread from person to person.
How many people in the UK have such diseases?
There are currently around 20,000 children and adults living with an inherited metabolic disorder in the UK.
How difficult is it to diagnose people with rare inherited diseases?
As we already mentioned, some of these diseases are screened for at birth. However, for the large majority of people with these conditions the diagnosis pathway is not very easy.
Some of the diseases will manifest in the first years of life and will have typical symptoms which can be easily spotted by a specialist in rare diseases. Sometimes the picture will not be so clear, especially when the disease manifests in adulthood, and the time until diagnosis can be up to 5-7 years.
This is the case for Pompe Disease in adults, one of the rare conditions which we see here; patients with this condition are seen by many specialists before the diagnosis is made. Also, we have to keep in mind that most doctors and other medical staff are not familiar with rare diseases, and this makes the diagnosis even more difficult.
How are rare diseases identified?
The diseases that are responsible for different metabolism problems can be identified by biochemical tests. Because the diseases are caused by genetics, most patients who present symptoms are diagnosed through genomic testing.
How do they get named?
This is a very interesting question. A rare metabolic disease occurs when a defective gene results in an enzyme deficiency and, as a result, another substance will accumulate and be responsible for the disease’s manifestation. In this case the disease could be named for the substance that accumulates – an example is phenylketonuria. Sometimes a disease will be named for the missing enzyme.
We have several diseases that are named by the person who discovered them. This is the case of Pompe Disease, which was named after the pathologist Johannes C. Pompe who first described the disease in a baby.
Is having a rare inherited disease necessarily a bad thing for the patient?
For some diseases, we have effective treatment which must be maintained for life. The treatment could be a burden for some of the patients, but they can have a perfectly healthy life. This is the case for patients with Gaucher Disease.
There are some inherited rare diseases where patients must follow a strict diet during their childhood. When they become an adult, the diet can be less restrictive and they can have a normal life.
We are still trying to understand why some people can have a specific genetic mutation and biochemical alteration in their blood, but they never manifest the disease.
What do you find so interesting about working in this field?
Rare Diseases is a very special area to work where we continually learn new things about the disease and patients. The rarity of the diseases keeps professionals from all over the world working together for our patients’ benefit. It is also highly rewarding and comes with a lot of responsibility to carefully deal with complex patients.
If someone wanted to work in this field, what would they need to study?
People with different backgrounds are now working in rare diseases after finishing their normal training in an area. From doctors and nurses to people with an interest in advocating for patients affected with rare diseases, I would say that this is not an ordinary job, it is a vocation.
Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and disability in children worldwide and more than two thirds of the survivors suffer longer term problems.
The most severely injured are managed by monitoring blood and brain pressure to set treatment targets â with the potential to improve outcomes by individualising targets via real-time analysis of routinely collected data.
This system of monitoring is known as âcontinuous assessment of cerebrovascular autoregulation (CA) using pressure reactivity index (PRx).â
Prior to the STARSHIP study, data collection for cerebrovascular autoregulation monitoring in paediatric traumatic brain injury was limited to single-centre studies, or looking back at past events, suggesting the data may be âinadequate.â
However, the study, led by Dr Shruti Agrawal (R), a paediatric intensivist and paediatric trauma lead at Cambridge University Hospitals, collected data from 10 UK Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) over five years and focused on 135 children under 16 years old and a multitude of factors associated with favourable outcomes, unfavourable outcomes and deaths. The aim was to identify critical thresholds of PRx in relation to outcome and create a research database.
The study findings support PRx monitoring in paediatric traumatic brain injury which could be used to fine-tune treatment targets with the potential of improving outcomes in this vulnerable group of patients. The improved data resource will ultimately be opened to third-party investigators, encouraging continued research and collaboration to help improve understanding and outcome for paediatric traumatic brain injury.
Dr Agrawal said: âUnderstanding the underpinning principles and management of raised intracranial pressure and brain perfusion is essential for reducing the morbidity and mortality of traumatic brain injuries.â
By extending the collection of data to multiple centres, Dr Agrawal said the STARSHIP database offers âa unique opportunity of ongoing research and data collection.â
Helping the study were departments within the University of Cambridge; Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust; Birmingham Childrenâs Hospital; Great Ormond Street Hospital; Leeds Childrenâs Hospital; Manchester Childrenâs Hospital; Nottingham Childrenâs Hospital; Oxford University Hospitals; Royal London Hospital; Sheffield Childrenâs Hospital and Southampton Childrenâs Hospital.
The study was funded by Action Medical Research for Children and Addenbrookeâs Charitable Trust (ACT), sponsored by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and supported by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
Shelly Thake, Chief Executive at ACT, said: âWe were delighted to be able to help fund this important study, which was only possible thanks to the generosity of our incredible supporters, some of whom will unfortunately have direct experience of the challenges associated with traumatic brain injury in children.â
Dr Caroline Johnston, senior research manager, Action Medical Research, added: âFunding research to further our understanding of traumatic brain injury and the long-term consequences is important and brings hope to children and their families. We are delighted to have partnered with Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust to work towards improving the understanding and treatment of severe traumatic brain injuries in children.â
Mia after surgeryMia when brought into Addenbrooke’sMia (R) with sister Isobelle, mum Angela Paine and partner Stuart JackMia as she is today with her mum
Mia Jack, 18, from Soham was one of 135 children who joined the Starship study and applauded the research and those helping her, saying: âAnything that helps with traumatic brain injury in children â and raises awareness of it at the same time â has got to be a good thing.â
Mia was thrown over the handlebars of a quadbike, and hit a tree headfirst, during a family activity day when she was 12 and put into an induced coma at the scene before being airlifted to Addenbrookeâs. Part of her skull was removed to relieve pressure on her brain in an operation called a craniectomy, but immediately after she needed more surgery to remove a blood clot.
Music-loving Mia, who lives in with sister Isabella Jack,19, mum Angela Paine and her partner Stuart Jack, woke up when she heard a ukulele being played on the ward.
To Angelaâs dismay Mia didnât recognise her and could not walk or talk. But over several difficult weeks, Miaâs determination along with the help of specialists, meant she was finally well enough for the next stage.
After a brief rest at home, she went to The Childrenâs Trust in Surrey – a charity -which offered a two-month rehabilitation programme involving physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and hydrotherapy.
As she continued her recovery, Mia would play the piano in the common room. She later returned to Addenbrookeâs to have a titanium plate fitted over the hole in her skull, during which she says David Guettaâs hit âTitaniumâ became something of a âpersonal anthemâ – and part of her piano playing repertoire.
Cambridge Centre for Paediatric Neuropsychological Rehabilitation offered Mia support over three months, including counselling. It helped her overcome the inevitable low moments, which was also helpful to the family.
The teenager was relieved to return to school and successfully moved up to Cambridge Regional College where she is in her second year of a hairdressing course.
She continues to sing, play the piano, and loves dancing, gymnastics and acting. She hopes to undertake a performing arts course next year and has discovered a talent for poetry.
Mum Angela, who works in catering but is also studying hairdressing, said: âTo me Miaâs recovery has been nothing less than a miracle. She is so courageous, so talented, and I am very proud of all she achieves.â
Mia said: âWhen I woke after the accident I was completely confused and didnât know who mum was, what had happened, and I didnât understand what was going on. I was wearing a helmet at the time, but apparently my brain was like a jelly in a box that had been really badly shaken and I was going to be in hospital for some time.â
âTo say it was all a bit of a struggle would be an understatement, but I am a fighter and hope someone else can take inspiration from that.
Click here to find out what happens for patients at Addenbrooke’s when supporters help us invest in research.