Ali paediatric respiratory physio at Ipswich Hospital was lucky enough to secure a ballot place for the London Marathon in April this year and decided to make it even more of a tough challenge and dress up as Puddle's the Children's Appeal friendly mascot. At last count Ali raised a spectacular £1,830 for the Children's Appeal. 

Ali said "I decided to make the most of my place and raise money for The Children’s Appeal at Ipswich Hospital and, to make it fun and far more entertaining for everyone out there, by dressing as the hospital’s fabulous mascot, Puddles the Duck! I tackled the event in 2012 where I managed to raise £1200 for my then-Trust, Bart’s Health; two babies, a few extra pounds and over a decade later I felt it was is going to be a slightly tougher challenge this time round!

I have the absolute pleasure and privilege to work alongside some of the very best clinicians, nurses, admin staff and everyone in between and I have never felt more proud of the teams I am a part of. I have experienced my colleagues perform miracles under immense pressure to keep our patients in the arms of their loved ones and each day I am amazed by something new or something kind that has been demonstrated by the staff, despite the immense pressure the NHS is under. It’s tough in a hospital right now- and I wanted to raise some smiles and do some good during this heartbreaking climate in healthcare.

And my patients- my brave, unstoppable patients and their families…. They inspired me and drove me to make sure I got the marathon and all the training done properly! So many of my patients face daily challenges with their lung health and it was only fair I put mine to the test to raise money for better facilities and better surroundings following our immense refurb of the Children’s Department for all to use."

Ali did an amazing job completing this duck-tacular challenge, a big thank you for all of your hard work and training the went into completing this challenge. 

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