In April 2011, my best friend Alex gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Matilda, in Hong Kong, by C-section.  A much loved and very welcome second daughter for Alex and her husband Hugo and little sister for Isabella.  She was a little early but weighed a healthy 6lb 2oz and other than needing a little oxygen and some time in an incubator, she seemed to be doing very well. 

Tragically and completely out of the blue, Matilda suffered a massive heart attack with other complicating factors when she was 28 hours old.  Despite having some of the best paediatric doctors in one of the best maternity hospitals in the world, they couldn't save her.  A little over a week after she was born the family flew home bringing Matilda with them and we held her funeral.  She was laid to rest in Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate. I had the honour of being Matilda’s Godmother but sadly never had the opportunity to meet, cuddle her or see her grow up.

The medical term for Matilda's condition is pneumo pericardium.  There are only about 40 recorded cases of this globally in new born babies and, to date, it is almost always fatal. 

I learned, as a result of Matilda's death, about SPARKS http://www.sparks.org.uk/research - the children and babies medical research charity which aims to advance clinical understanding and treatment of conditions affecting babies, children and mums-to-be.  The more research carried out and the more knowledge gained ultimately means fewer parents and families have to go through what we, and too many others, have.

Alex’s sister Susie first raised an astonishing £8,500 for SPARK’s through taking part in Scumrun in 2012 and entered as ‘Miles for Matilda’ to raise money in her memory.

Now along with Matilda’s other Godmother Caroline, we are running the BUPA 2013 10K race in London on 27 May also as Miles for Matilda to raise money for SPARKS.

This is a very daunting challenge given that I am not a jogger/runner at all.  I can barely run half a mile before having to stop and can only run/walk 3K in half an hour!  So this is a huge challenge for me to participate in a 10K run… I aim not be the last over the finishing line after everyone else has left!  Of course the whole point of the challenge is to raise as much money as possible so I ask you to donate and inspire me with my training and completing the run.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now! Thank you xx