Theo was diagnosed with HPLS (Hypo Plastic Left Heart Syndrome), which basically means, his left side of his heart hadn’t formed, on a scale of 1-10, it was a 10, which meant that he was unable to have surgery, he was a very poorly baby, my baby. He never had the chance to take a breathe and I never got the chance to hear him cry. Theo was born asleep at 23 weeks and 5 days on 22 May 2011 at 2026.

HPLHS is a fairly rare problem that occurs in approximately 1 in 5000 babies, some survive the labor, some live hours, days or weeks. The babies that are strong enough then face a series of heart surgery, should they get that far... or if like Theo, they are to poorly and are born asleep.

Carley and I received soooo much support form our family and friends but also from two specific charities, Little Hearts Matter and Antenatal Results and Choices.

Each year 35,000 parents are told their unborn baby may have an abnormality. ARC provides information about antenatal testing and supports parents and their families when an abnormality is discovered in their much wanted baby. ARC is a lifeline for expectant and bereaved parents.

I want to raise money for two both charities, I have set up two just giving pages, this one for ARC and one for LHM.

PLEASE can you split your donation to both charities.

For this reason, I want to raise money for both charities, I plan to split my money raised 50/50, but I also would appreciate if you would take 5 minutes to look at the dedicated websites www.lhm.org.uk and www.arc-uk.org.

Finally, I want to donate 10% of what I raise to the Knitting Ladies at Whiston Hospital. Even though Theo was 12" long, I would have struggled to have found any clothes for him and to be honest, It was the last thing on mind. I was so touched and over whelmed with the clothing the hospital dressed Theo in, he looked very much my little prince, the ladies don’t just knit booties, but hats, and the tiniest teddy bears too, the hospital also provides clothes, mosses baskets, photos, hand and foot prints, all of which cost the hospital money, which is received by donations.

What makes it even more special is that the run is two days before Theo’s first birthday!. so, please, please no matter how much you can donate, it ALL helps , it wont change my story, it can’t bring Theo back, but it Will make a difference to so many families.

Cheers, David

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.