Claire House Children's Hospice helps seriously and terminally ill children live life to the full by creating wonderful experiences and bringing back a sense of normality to family life. By providing specialist nursing care and emotional support we help families smile again when life couldn't get any tougher.For every child that we reach there is one that we do not. Help us reach more children and create memories that last a lifetime.

My 12 year old daughter, Ciara, has Rett Syndrome which is a Neurological development disorder that is almost exclusively found in seemingly healthy girls.  It is caused by a totally random genetic mutation at the point of conception.  It is not hereditary and therefore can potentially affect any girl.  From birth, girls will typically develop as normal for the first 6 – 18 months of their lives.  During this time, their parents and families are often completely unaware of their being anything wrong. 

Today Ciara is catastrophically affected by Rett Syndrome.  She has a number of musculoskeletal problems including scoliosis of the spine, a dislocated hip, she has severe Epilepsy and suffers with an anxiety disorder.  She is unable talk or sit unaided and is fed by tube. This year she is due to have 2 major operations on her spine and hips.

Over the years Claire House has given us amazing support.  Ciara visits for respite stays with them and my other 2 children have benefitted from the sibling events they offer.   With Ciara’s upcoming surgeries yet again Claire House have been one of the first to reach out to offer whatever support they can.

I began running during the initial lockdown, initially more to give me some headspace, but as I slowly began to improve I found that I was enjoying it.  When I saw that the Chester 10K was fundraising for Claire House I felt this was some small way that I could give something back to them.