Master of Music at Norwich Cathedral Ashley Grote will be running the London Marathon in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital – dressed as mascot Bernard the Bear!
Ashley is running the marathon in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity for the fourth year in succession, motivated by the ongoing treatment his daughter Emily is receiving at the hospital for treatment of a rare brain tumour.
Over the years he has raised over £56,ooo for the charity and he was considering hanging up his running shoes and sitting the marathon out this year. He said, “It’s right to say that I was considering drawing a line after three successive marathons, but when I found out that Bernard the Bear, the official mascot of Great Ormond Street Hospital, hadn’t yet run the London Marathon, Ithought I should help him put that right.”
In June 2014, Ashley’s daughter Emily was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour known as a craniopharygioma. She underwent two long and difficult operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital, followed by a six-week course of Proton beam therapy in Jacksonville, Florida. Since then, she has had further surgery at GOSH to improve blood flow in her brain after suffering from two strokes in March 2016. Thanks to the world-class treatment and outstanding care she has received at Great Ormond Street, she has made remarkable progress, overcoming each of these difficult hurdles with strength and determination.
Ashley said, “As her parents, it doesn’t bear thinking about where we would be now without the treatment and support that Emily has had at GOSH, and we owe them a great debt of gratitude. Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity does such important work raising money which has helped our family and countless others.”
If you would like to support Ashley, aka Bernard the Bear as he runs the marathon on April 22, please donate via his Just Giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bernardthebear
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