A little over 9 years ago now my son, Thomas, arrived in the world a little earlier than any of us had anticipated.  I hadn't even started my maternity leave and certainly didn't have the nursery ready!  Due to some serious complications in my pregnancy we had no option but to welcome Thomas into the world weighing just 3lb 12 ozs, he was tiny and couldn't breathe on his own; he spent the first five weeks of his life in the neonatal unit, several days of which were in intensive care.  I was extremely unwell and spent time in a separate high dependency ward and didn't see my baby for nearly 24 hours. This was not the start to motherhood that I had dreamt of.

The nurses at the neonatal ward were amazing but I will never forget the way I felt as I prepared for his arrival in the world (we hadn't even picked a name_ and on the day I was well enough to leave hospital having to leave my baby behind...imagine having to experience that heart wrenching feeling every day for over 4 weeks.

My story has a happy ending, Thomas is a healthy, happy, physically active 9 year old, despite his bumpy arrival, however not everyone is as lucky.

I'm raising money to support Bliss, the charity that works to support families whose children are born prematurely, or with illness, as I understand how isolating and worrying it is to live through such an experience. Please support me if you can - a donation however small will take us a step closer to our target.

I've chosen to fundraise for Bliss because I want to make a real difference to the 95,000 babies born premature or sick every year. Every donation that’s made to this page brings Bliss closer to ensuring that every baby born premature or sick in the UK has the best chance of survival and quality of life. Bliss does that by supporting parents to care for their babies, campaigning for better neonatal care and enabling life-changing research.