Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Here's my quick story:

I'm a mum of three, I like a challenge and I run to relax.  I've never ran more than 13.1 miles before so the marathon will be tough.  After Gabe's death, my family and running have got me through some very hard times.  I'm running in memory of Gorgeous Gabe and for Noah, Bella and Matt who always believe in me.  If you want the long story, read on....

Our youngest son, Gabe, was born in September 2012, we knew he'd be severely disabled, antenatal scans had shown that something very wrong had happened in Gabe's development, what the scans couldn't predict was how Gabe would be affected and how long he would live.  We decided before Gabe was born that we didn't want heroic medical intervention after birth but minimal hospital care so that he could home and be part of our family.  Gabe thrived on family love and life, although the list of things he couldn't do far outweighed the things he could and daily life was full of medicines, therapies, hospital appointments and more than the occasional drama we made life as 'normal' as it could ever be.  Just after Gabe's third birthday he started to suffer from increasingly severe chest infections, his times of 'wellness' were becoming less and his quality of life started to deteriorate, we all recognised this, including his siblings, then aged 8 and 6 years.  In February 2016 Gabe developed a significant chest infection and despite treatment in hospital he wan't getting better, as a family we knew Gabe's life was nearing the end and we didn't want it to end in hospital, we wanted to be together and try to continue being as 'normal' as possible.  That's when we discovered Claire House.    

The fantastic outreach team came to see us in hospital, the same evening I took our older children for a tour of the hospice, they loved the brightness of the place, the warm, friendly staff and of course the pool!  It was their half term holiday, they remarked on the way home that it was 'like Center Parcs', it broke my heart.  The following day we moved in, we arrived to find Gabe's room decorated with all the things he loved, thanks to the staff subtly seeking out nuggets of information from Noah and Bella the night before, we were touched.  During our week at Claire House we swam together, ate together, made music, watched movies, had family photos taken and just enjoyed  being together.  The amazing support of the staff meant Matt and I could just be parents to Gabe rather than worrying about medications, positioning, washing and cooking.   When Matt and I needed space with Gabe, the fantastic play team entertained Noah and Bella with arts, crafts and games, the family therapists got to know us so that later when we needed their support they would be friendly faces.  Five days after we moved into Claire House, Gabe died surrounded by his family.  Gabe stayed at Claire House until his funeral and when we felt ready, we returned home.  The support from Claire House continues and we will be forever grateful to the whole team for everything they do and by raising money others will be able to benefit too from this amazing place.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.