In April 2011, my sister Alex gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Matilda, their second daughter, in Hong Kong (where they live), by C-section.  She 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.  Another daughter, niece, granddaughter and of course, a brand new little sister for Isabella.  We were absolutely thrilled. 

 

But, Matilda suffered a massive heart attack with other complicating factors, completely out of the blue, when she was 28 hours old and 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, with Alex still recovering from her C-section, they flew home, bringing Matilda with them, and we held her funeral.  She was laid to rest in Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate.  Even now, it is impossible to describe the shock, devastation and overwhelming sense of loss. 

 

The medical term for Matilda's condition is pneumo pericardium complicating respiratory distress syndrome of a neonate.  There are only about 40 recorded cases of this globally 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.

 

As a family, we are determined that something positive should come from our dreadful loss and I have wanted to do something to raise funds for this wonderful charity, in memory of Matilda, for some time; it was just a question of what.  Those who know me well will know straight away that marathons and climbing mountains are not my style, but I wanted to do something fairly extreme with the aim of raising a considerable sum.  Then I discovered that the Scumrun Rally http://www.scumrun.com/index.php/ has SPARKS as it's designated charity for 2012.  So (deep breath), I have entered with my friend and colleague, Sean, under the team name Miles for Matilda.

2500 miles across Europe in four days, in a car worth no more than £500!  Each days destination is only revealed each morning and there are checkpoints along the way that have to be worked out, reached and photographic evidence provided.

It's a huge undertaking but worth every ounce of effort for such a worthy charity.  Thank you very much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and thank you very much for every penny donated.

You can keep track of our progress leading up the event and during by visiting www.milesformatilda.co.uk/scumrun (live towards the end of February) or by following @SusieLittle on Twitter.

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.