Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

In April 2025, I will be running the London Marathon. In doing so, I will hoping to raise life-changing funds for my dear friend’s baby boy - Rico.

I will be fundraising through the charity - Tree of Hope. This fantastic organising supports parents in access healthcare services for their child in the UK and Ireland.

This is Rico’s story, as best told by his wonderful mummy Moira:

‘We are trying to raise funds to pay for life-changing therapies and treatments to work around the damage to Rico's brain discovered at birth.


‘Rico was born full term in August 2023 after a normal pregnancy. I noticed reduced kicking and upon getting checked at the hospital they confirmed he was suffering from lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain. I was completely alone, rushed to theatre, put to sleep, and Rico was born via an extremely fast emergency c-section.


‘To this day the cause is unknown. Rico was born not breathing and needed 6 minutes of resuscitation. Following a devastating brain scan we were told to say goodbye as the damage was too severe and Rico was not expected to survive. The life support got turned off.


‘However Rico soon started breathing, feeding and moving independently. We brought him home after 3 weeks where we were told to wait and see what happens with his development. The NHS's approach is to let problems happen and then treat them as and when they arise. However brain research has proven that early intervention is crucial in the early months of life and neuroplasticity (the brains ability to rewire itself and work around the existing damage creating new neural connections) has the most potential in the first couple of years. But it has to happen early and one of the most efficient ways is via alternative therapies.


‘The NHS has given us basic assessments and therapies but there is so much more out there to help Rico and his brain development. For the first year we funded both alternative therapies and essential treatments ourselves (physiotherapy, cranial osteopathy, ABM therapy, ophthalmology, chiropractor, ENT) but the funds are now running out. So we are planning to raise funds however way we can to pay for more physiotherapy and help Rico's brain to rewire itself. He isn't yet rolling or crawling but has come so far already and seems to fight every hurdle presented to him.


‘Rico has already been diagnosed with epilepsy, global development delay and mild hearing loss. All we want to do is give him the best chance possible to learn and improve and reach his potential. His seizures are under control, his vision and hearing seem to be developing, and he is 100% orally fed and being weaned onto solids slowly. There are so many positives! We hope there will be more.

‘Thank you so much for reading. Rico is so loved at home by Mummy, Daddy and big brother Rafa and we appreciate the support so far from all our family, friends and loved ones.’

Rico’s Tree of Hope page can be found here: https://www.treeofhope.org.uk/ways-to-give/childrens-campaigns/fundraising-for-rico/