I am doing the Great North Run this year, a big challenge for me so any donations much appreciated! I want to help Betty access therapy not available on the NHS to allow her to make progress in motor skills, vision and cognition. This to provide Betty with amazing experiences, comfort, equipment and therapy to maximise her potential.

Here is some more information about Betty's story from her family:

"Betty is a loving, determined and amazingly brave 2 year old who lives in County Durham with her Mummy, Daddy and 3 brothers. After a healthy pregnancy, Betty decided to jump into the world feet first. She was born in our hallway, but became stuck for an extended period of time and was born not breathing, white and floppy. She was resuscitated on our kitchen floor before being taken to hospital. She took 45 minutes to make any respiratory effort herself. She was then transferred to James Cook hospital where she underwent cooling therapy.

We were told to expect that she would not survive and her grandparents were bought in, in spite of Covid rules, to meet her that night. We were also informed that the MRI of Bettys brain was the worst they had seen for 5 years. She had suffered from HIE, a brain injury as a result of lack of oxygen, and was given a grading of 3, as bad as it can get. We spent 7 weeks in the NICU, and for most of that time we expected to lose her any moment. We were transferred to Durham hospital for a further two weeks and then amazingly made it home for the day before Christmas Eve!

Betty has spent most of her first 2 years in and out of hospital due to complications following her birth. She has cerebral palsy, dystonia, is profoundly deaf, has CVI (a form of blindness), and has global developmental delay. She is unable to swallow and so has a button to be fed into her tummy, needs regular suctioning and often needs oxygen support. Betty is unable to do anything without support. So, we support her for sitting, moving and even to play.

We are determined that Betty will have the most amazing life, and we will do all in our power to ensure she has a a rich experience of life, and reaches her potential (whatever that may be). She will be the poster girl for what quality of life really means!

As Betty needs support in every aspect of her life, she requires equipment and therapy that is not be available to her on the NHS. We hope that our fundraising efforts for Betty will enable her to access private therapies to help her make progress in her movement and posture. And we hope to find equipment she may need to live comfortably, have fun, make progress with her vision and to help her learn and progress.

We are beyond thankful for any donations and welcome you to Team Betty for your kind support."