After our son Rory sadly died in February 2016, we decided to raise money in his memory. Mike took on the 100 mile Prudential cycle, I ran the London Marathon, colleagues donated and many of our friends took on individual challenges. Earlier this year, The Feb 100k kids (our son Barnaby and 40+ friends) took on the challenge of each walking 100k in the month of February to raise money for Rory and The Royal Marsden - they raised an extraordinary amount of money and we are so proud of them. This initiative was partly inspired by myself and Lara-Kate’s plan to walk 100km along the Jurassic Coast in 24 hours! The time has come and we set off next Saturday 22nd at 8am. Although we decided to self-fund after the 100k kids did such a phenomenal job, we have been asked by so many people to send a link, so here we are. 

A bit of background...

In 2017, I became a parent adviser at The True Colours Trust and working together, the Breathing Spaces project was born.  Breathing Spaces are parent/carer rooms in hospitals which create a 'home from home' environment.  These spaces are thoughtfully designed to meet the specific needs, and promote the wellbeing, of parent/carers in this challenging situation.  Breathing Spaces were inspired by Rory and these rooms now exist in children's hospitals across the UK (funded by The True Colours Trust).  Mike and I have now decided to use the money raised in Rory's memory to create 3 (and hopefully more) new Breathing Spaces at Great Ormond Street Hospital where Rory spent much of his life.

Unfortunately, sitting rooms/kitchens for parents or carers in hospitals are often given very little thought.  However, as parents, we play a vital role in our child's care team, so this needs to be seriously re-evaluated.  If we look after the parents, then they are better fuelled physically and emotionally to look after their child so everyone benefits.

Mike and I are determined to do what we can to make families' experiences in hospital more bearable, to help parents develop friendships, share their experiences and give them the space they deserve.

Lisa