Andrew’s epic cycle in support of WellChild

We gave Andrew Gould a big Sheffield Children’s welcome this week when he visited one of our community nurses on his epic 3,500km charity bike ride.

Andrew is raising money for the charity WellChild, who support children with exceptional health needs to stay at home. Andrew’s challenge involves cycling to every hospital which has a nurse that is funded by WellChild. There are 50 nurses in total and at Sheffield Children’s that nurse is Amika Challacombe.

Amika works in the community alongside another colleague funded by Sheffield Children’s. They are based all across South Yorkshire and specialise in supporting children and young people who have conditions that mean they are ventilated. Her role is varied and can involve anything from training family members about tracheostomies, increasing ventilation if patients are poorly, liaising with other services across the region and lots more.

Amika said: “It means absolutely everything that Andrew is doing this ride and helping to raise money for WellChild. I absolutely love getting to help children stay at home and without money like this there would be more children in hospital and no dedicated nurses or support for many families.”

The 50 WellChild nurses across the country all specialise in different types of care and they play a crucial role in helping children to leave hospital and be cared for at home, reducing the practical, emotional and financial impact for families.

Andrew said: “The nurses are where the charity’s work makes the real difference for children so it’s an absolute privilege to come and meet them all one by one and say thank you for all they do.”

Touch wood, Andrew’s bike and cheery spirit are holding up well despite four consecutive days of rain and mud from Penrith to Newcastle, and an uphill shock into Sheffield!

Andrew will end his ride at St George’s in London next Thursday after meeting all the 50 nurses funded by WellChild.

Good luck with the final leg Andrew and thank you for your incredible efforts.