"I wanted to beat my dad!"

We love to hear from young people who are determined not to let their liver condition hold them back, so it’s great to share 13-year-old Imogen’s account of her amazing coast to coast cycle ride which to date has brought in a fantastic £4527 to support other youngsters with liver disease.

I was born with biliary atresia and received a transplant when I was a baby, and my mum gave me a part of her liver. So, it’s something I’ve always known about, but it isn’t a worry to me as that’s the way it’s always been. All I have to do is to take my tablets each day which I have done myself since Year 3. It’s just part of my routine, like cleaning my teeth every day.

I remember my dad doing a big fundraising cycle ride in 2023 and wanting to do it with him, but I was too young. As I enjoy cycling, I thought it would be fun to take on a big challenge which would encourage people to sponsor me. And so, we came up with the coast-to-coast idea.

We set off from Cleethorpes on a Friday morning and followed a 220 mile route which ended in Hoylake on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon. Sometimes with all the hills it was tiring, and I needed some sweets for energy, but knew I had to finish it as otherwise, everything I’d done so far would be a waste. Anyway, I wanted to beat my Dad!

Finishing on that Monday afternoon was just brilliant. And it felt great to prove that a young person can do a challenge like this. I didn’t have much time to celebrate this, however, as I had to be up at 6.30am the next day to go to school, although I didn’t go to cricket training that night.

I am surprised and really pleased that we raised over £4,500. When you do something like this you don’t really know what you’re going to raise but this is an amazing amount and shows how much people really do care about this cause.

To other young people with liver disease or a transplant, I would say just do as much as you are able to do. If there’s something you really want to do – just go for it – you’ll be happy that you did!

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