Loving uncle gets set to cycle 100 miles to thank charity which supported his family

An inspirational uncle will be cycling 100 miles to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust to say thank you to the charity that supported his nephew whilst his great niece was seriously ill in hospital.

Michael Julien, 56, from Dartford, will be taking on the mammoth Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 cycling challenge on Sunday 30 July, in a bid to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust - a charity that provides free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation to families with seriously ill children in hospital

When Michael’s niece, Perla, was born in December 2016, she was diagnosed with a twisted bowel and required emergency treatment at The Royal London Hospital – 30 miles away from her family’s home. Perla was never alone as The Sick Children’s Trust supported her family in its ‘Home from Home’ Stevenson House, just a few minutes’ walk from her hospital bedside.

Stevenson House supported Perla’s family for 13 days and now Michael wants to ensure other families can benefit from the charity’s ‘Homes from Home’. He has been training hard for the challenge, which follows the course of the 2012 Olympic 100 mile road race and passes the major sights of London, as well as the challenging climbs of Box Hill and Leith Hill. Michael says:

“I’ve never cycled 100 miles before, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge. As soon as I got my place on the ride, I decided to do it for The Sick Children’s Trust. They do such a fantastic job and were a huge support to Perla and her family.

“I don’t know what they would’ve done if it hadn’t been for this amazing charity. Having a ‘Home from Home’ where they could cook their own meal or have a little rest, or even a shower and freshen up after a long day on the ward helped them to cope.

“Perla is now doing really well, she’s come on leaps and bounds and I’m delighted to be giving something back to The Sick Children’s Trust, to say thank you for supporting my nephew at such a difficult time.”

The Sick Children’s Trust runs ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the UK, three of which are based in London, Stevenson House at The Royal London Hospital and Guilford Street and Rainbow Houses at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Stevenson House manager, Alan Booth says:

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to Michael for taking on this challenge to fundraise for us. Michael is determined to complete the challenge in under six hours and has been rigorously training – we heard he even went for a cycle on this birthday last month! He’s out on his bike every weekend, clocking up the miles to make sure he does Perla and her family proud. We are so grateful which will make a difference to thousands of families who need a ‘Home from Home’ when they have a seriously ill child in hospital. We wish him the very best of luck.”

If you would like to support Michael, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-Julien