As some of you already know, we devastatingly lost our youngest daughter Eleanor in December last year. She was two days old and we miss her terribly. However we want to make sure that Eleanor is not forgotten and there is now something that people can do to help bring some good from something so awful.

Eleanor died needlessly of sepsis due to Group B Strep after critical signs were dismissed by clinicians. This is a very common infection that 1500 babies in the country contract a year and Eleanor was one of the 50 babies who dies from the infection in the UK each year. Another 100 babies develop life long disabilities as a result of GBS. In the UK we do not routinely test for GBS, this is in contrast to most other countries with advanced healthcare systems; those countries have much lower death rates from this infection. This is not something that should have killed our perfect little daughter and we would encourage people to read a little about it to raise awareness: Group B Strep Support

As a family we have been supported in the last few months by an amazing charity called Shooting Stars. Despite Eleanor not being treated at their hospices, they have been there for us in the weeks and months since Eleanor's death and will continue to provide support and counselling for all of us for up to 3 years. To try and say thank you to them and to ensure other families can be supported in the way that we have been, we are asking for sponsorship. In June, Dave is running The Summer Spine, the full 268 mile length of the Pennine way over 6.5 days, hopefully ending up at the finish in Scotland before the cut off time. Jane will be swimming 3.8km in Hever Castle lake at the start of July.

We would love you to sponsor us if you can; the work that they do makes a real difference.

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Shooting Star Children's Hospices cares for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families.Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, we are here to make every moment count. We support families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.