Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My wife and I suffered a missed miscarriage in February last year.  This was the thing that really gave me the kick up the backside to go and do something like this.  It was our first pregnancy and so we were very excited about going for our first scan to see our baby!  Nothing could have prepared us for the news that our baby's heart had stopped beating over a week before.  Something I didnt know before the miscarriage is that one in four women will lose a baby during pregnancy and birth, it is a very difficult thing to have to go through however I decided that for all the babies that are born but are very ill and needing intensive care, they should have a fighting chance of survival.

 

I called upon some brave, adventurous, gallant and courageous men (Gaz Nash, Mike Richardson, John Gregg, Hamish Morton, Paul Scully, Gordon Moore, Richard Woodhead & Rich Jones) to join me in the 3 Peaks Challenge this summer to raise money for 'Bliss' and being the great mates they are they very kindly agreed.  Bliss is a special baby care charity that provides essential and vital support to premature and sick babies across the UK.  They also provide a very valuable support service for the families looking after very ill and sick babies offering advice and giving information that can be difficult to find. 

 

Bliss was established in 1979 so are just over 30 years old, just like us (well most of us doing the challenge)!  In 1979, 1 in every 5 babies born prematurely at about 2 pounds in weight survived.  Now thanks to charities such as Bliss, that figure is 4 out of 5! 

One in eight babies in the UK is born premature or sick – that's 82,000 babies every year. Around 20,000 of these babies need intensive care and the figure is rising. Every six minutes, a newborn baby requires urgent specialist care. Every 24 minutes, a newborn baby requires life-saving intensive care. Bliss is the only UK charity that helps care for premature and sick babies. They are dedicated to ensuring that more babies not only survive, but also go on to have the best possible quality of life. They support families, fund cutting-edge research and campaign for improved hospital resources. 

I am delighted to say that my wife and I went on to become pregnant again and we have now have a beautiful, healthy and very happy little girl, Ava Elizabeth Daly!  I hope our story give's some hope to parents who have gone through a similar thing to ourselves.  Ava is an absolute blessing.

The 3 Peaks Challenge - climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike & Mount Snowdon within 24 hours.  I hope you are feeling very genorous, please please sponsor us so that we can raise as much money for Bliss as we possibly can.  Your donation is very much appreciated by us all and is going to an absolutely excellent cause and charity.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Monday 22nd March 2010

Sunday 21st March saw our first outdoor get together for a gentle stroll up the Malvern Hills. This was a good chance to test out our equipment ahead of the challenge but also get an idea of what we are in for!  It was the perfect day, bright sunshine – we used this to our advantage and got some photos taken of us in our new Bliss T-shirts, chatted to a few people who were gathering around asking us who what we were upto.  Some of guys were not able to make it but hopefully they'll be there at next one which we hope to be up at the Brecon Beacons.

Your generosity has been fantastic so far, please help spread the word, please help us raise as much money as possible for this great cause.