Family and relations

Have I spoken about my siblings? I don't think I have.

I have a sister, who is two years younger than me. A brother who is 10 years younger than me.

And when my brother was 5, my parents decided to become foster parents. They didn't want to foster young children, and were given the opportunity to foster older children, children who had been in care for a long time to show them normal family life.

The first foster child they had was Kiera. She was a year older than me, and fitted in extremely well. She was the first child in care for that local authority to go to university and obtain a degree. She got a good job in marketing and moved into her own place. By which time, she had become my sister in more than words.

And then she took a holiday to Paris with a friend. There was a terrible motorbike accident. There was hanging around phones waiting to hear.

She survived, although minus half a leg. And now she's campaigning to raise funds for other amputees. A few days ago she sent around the email I've repeated below. Read it. Sponsor her.

Hello On the 30th September 2011 local amputee Kiera Roche will be leading a team of amputees and friends as they take on the ultimate challenge and cycle 300 kilometers in just 3-days, from the historic city of London to the romantic city of Paris. 10 years ago this summer Kiera was involved in a fatal road traffic accident in St Germain, Paris, where her friend Bruno Le Friec died on impact and Kiera was left with life threatening injuries. Surgeon Marc Mann operated for 11 hours and saved Kiera’s life, but he couldn’t save her leg. After three months in hospital Kiera vowed she wouldn’t let being an amputee stop her form living a full and active life. Since 2001 Kiera has cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats, along the river Nile, Walked the Great Wall of China and Trekked in Cuba, all to raise funds for amputee charities. Kiera has dedicated her life to helping other amputees who find themselves facing life with limb loss. Now the Chairman of a small charity, -LimbPower – Kiera organises events to encourage new amputees to rebuild their lives through the medium of sport. “We organise the annual amputee games -first run in 2008 – at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, where we invite 100 new amputees to join us for a long weekend to take part in the 13 main Paralympic sports. This is an opportunity for new amputees to meet other amputees in a similar position to themselves so they don’t feel isolated and alone, as well as benefiting from taking part in the different sports and feeling empowered by being able to achieve something, they are also inspired by meeting Paralympic athletes, some who were identified through attending the games, such as local Paralympic power-lifter Kelvin Daniels. This is a remarkable event which encourages people to focus on what they can do not on what they can’t do”. With all excellent charitable work there is a cost. To raise money for these events we rely on the generosity of the general public and the community we serve. One of our objectives is to encourage amputees who have benefited from our work to give something back by joining us for a sporting challenge to raise funds for the next generation of amputees. The London to Paris Bike Ride will see a team of 15 amputees and supporters, including healthcare professionals cycle a staggering 300 kilometers in just 3-days to raise funds for the Amputee Games and Junior Games. The challenge starts now, with each participant having to raise £1,250.00. Please support us by either joining us for the bike ride or by making a charitable donation. You can sponsor kiera at: http://www.justgiving.com/kiera-Roche I'm taking part in the Londontoparis on 03/10/2011 to raise money for LimbPower (British Ambulant Disabled Sports and Arts Foundation) and I'd really appreciate your support. It's easy to donate online with a credit or debit card - just go to my JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/Kiera-Roche JustGiving sends your donation straight to LimbPower (British Ambulant Disabled Sports and Arts Foundation) and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you're a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more. I hope you'll join me in supporting LimbPower (British Ambulant Disabled Sports and Arts Foundation). Thank you. Kiera