About Henry

On 25th February 2009, our son Henry was born. The pregnancy was normal and low-risk, the labour was natural and also deemed low-risk. However, due to oxygen starvation we lost him just 21 hours after he was born. The causes and reasons for the lack of oxygen we still do not understand, and may never know.

Whilst trying to understand and come to terms with the loss of our beautiful son, we became aware through Sands of how common neo-natal death is. In the UK 17 babies a day die in the womb or neo-natally. 6500 babies each year, that is ten times the cot death rate and this figure has been unchanged in a decade.

We felt that we could do something positive in the memory of Henry and the Sands WHY17 campaign could make a difference to other parents and babies, and could prevent them having the same tragic experience as us.

The Challenge

The aim of this challenge is to climb 17 summits in Snowdonia in 17 hours. The route will take in the highest peaks of Wales, 15 exceeding 3000 feet. Total distance is around 30 miles with a total height climbed of 12000ft.

There will be 2 groups taking part, some of us completing this challenge in one long day, the others splitting it into 2 days each consisting of 8.5 hours walking. Either way this is not to be taken lightly and is well recognised as one of the toughest mountain challenges in the UK.

We will be assisted by a dedicated support team to feed, water and cheer us on at various checkpoints.

More about WHY17?

Through the Why17? campaign Sands hope to raise awareness of the issues surrounding baby loss and to initiate a public debate about stillbirth and neonatal death. Sands will be urging all those interested parties to join with them to develop a national strategy to reduce the rates of baby loss.  

Sands want to see:

• Increased public awareness of how many stillbirths and neonatal deaths there are in the UK.
• Recognition that stillbirth and neonatal death is a national problem and is not just one of those things.
• A national strategy to reduce the number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in the UK
• Funding for more research to improve understanding of why stillbirths and neonatal deaths happen and to identify high risk pregnancies and develop effective interventions 

http://www.why17.org/

Donating

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: SANDS gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor us now!

Thank you all so much.

Jude & Mike Thomas