It's been a while since I was last on here - a good six months at least. A lot's happened in that time both personally and in the world.
Back in February I suffered another pneumothorax - my fourth in three years and worst to date. I was off work for 5 weeks in total and for a long time it looked like surgery would be the only option, significantly reducing my chances of a lung transplant as an option further down the line.
Thankfully, it didn't come to that in the end and I was finally scheduled to get back to working for the BLF only for Covid to hit. Like many of you I'm having to shield myself away but this hasn't stopped me from working or raising money for the cause!
Last month I did the #TwoPointSixChallenge raising more than £1,500 by cycling 26 miles a day for 10 days after work. In the day job itself I've been busy getting in more than £100,000 to help support the brilliant Helpline and Patient Services team that do so much to help give us the information, support and advice that we need to stay safe.
I'm so proud to work with such incredible people who have been working tirelessly day and night to keep up with the unprecedented level of demand. With everything going on with Covid they've understandably never been busier.
Without the London Marathon and other revenue streams, we've needed to find other ways to help raise the vital funds to keep everything going. I know that there have been a lot of asks recently but one way that you can all help that won't cost a penny is by nominating us for Ecclesiastical Insurance's 2020 Movement for Good Awards.
It takes two minutes to do and if we're one of the 500 most nominated charities we'll get £1,000 which will go straight back in to the vital services that are helping us stay safe and manage our conditions during the current crisis.
Here's how you can nominate the charity:
1. Go to the Ecclesiastical Insurance's website at: movementforgood.com/#nomina...
2. Enter our charity number: 326730
3. Complete the form
Nominations close on Saturday so you haven't got much time to put us forwards but please do as it'll be worth it if we win!
Thanks as ever for all your support and do stay safe and look after yourselves over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
Andy