On the 29th November 2016 we had beautiful identical twin girls called Poppy and Holly.  We had them 3 months early which was a shock but all the same we couldn't believe we were finally going to be a mummy and daddy.  It sounds stupid now but we never realised that having them so early would be so dangerous and frightening.  Poppy was born not breathing and without a heart beat, she was resuscitated for over 20 minutes.  Holly was born anemic, struggling to breath so needed to be ventilated and had numerous blood transfusions.  We had no idea what was happening all we could do was hope and pray that they would be okay.  After several hours we were informed that Poppy was far too poorly to stay at Warrington hospital and had to be transfered to Liverpool Women's whilst Holly stayed at Warrington.  We travelled between the two hospitals to visit our baby girls for two weeks until finally Poppy and Holly were reunited.  As the weeks went on Holly was getting stronger and gaining weight nicely.  Poppy continued to battle but after 3 weeks the fight was just too great for our beautiful baby daughter.  We lost Poppy at only 3 weeks old.  There is not a single day that goes by that we do not think about our little Popsicle.  The loss of a child is unbearable and something that no-one should ever have to go through.  This is why I have decided to raise money for the SANDS charity in memory of our precious angel Poppy.  

The SANDS charity deal daily with bereaved parents; their families and friends, all of whom are struggling to come to terms with the death of their baby.  They are also equally dedicated to working with midwives and doctors to improve the bereavement care they provide to bereaved parents, as well as promoting much needed research to reduce the numbers of babies dying.  The statistics for stillbirth and neonatal death in the UK are shocking and new research has revealed that the UK has one of the highest stillbirth rates in the developed world.  

In order to raise money I will be participating in 3 challenges as Poppy battled for 3 weeks so I thought it was only fitting.  

- 20th May Great Manchester 10K run.

-  1st July Chester to Liverpool bike ride.

- 25th August climb Mount Snowdon.

If you would like to come along and support me then the more the merrier.  Thank you for all your love, support and donations.  I hope to make Poppy and her little sister Holly proud!

Love Jodie xxx