This year (well 1.9.23) I will be running the Ring O Fire (135 miles coastal path around Anglesey) in memory of my brother who would be celebrating his 40th Birthday a few days later 💙


39 years ago today (18.12.83) was the worst imaginable day ever for our family.  My parents lost their son and I lost my brother (with only a week to go till his first Christmas )


Words can't describe what my mum and dad went through and I was too young to realise.  As a family,  it seemed like we just had to get on with life and no one knew what to say or do for the best. 


Over the years, even as a family we didn't talk that much about Marc, however,  we know that rarely does a day go bye without thinking of him.  I have always told people I had a brother,  and Cadi has always known she has an Uncle Marc as we visit the cemetery to celebrate Birthdays and Christmas. 


I wanted to run the Ring O Fire in 2020 on my 40th Birthday but Covid came along and cancelled the race. Once I found out about Petals and the reason behind my race I knew it was meant to be. 


Petals are a baby loss counselling charity. The specialist counselling service that  provides is life-changing for parents who have suffered the devastating loss of a pregnancy or death of a baby, something that we never knew existed when Marc passed away.


It is a sad reality that in the UK, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, 1 in 200 babies will be stillborn every year, over 5000 pregnancies will be terminated for medical reasons each year and 24 babies die shortly after birth every single week.  So many friends and family have suffered over the years and its still a very hard to know what to do or say for the best and is still not spoken about much.  We never know what to say for the best. 


Petals know that these tragic experiences not only result in grief but also in trauma. They have wonderful counsellors are there to help families navigate their grief and trauma and to guide them to a place of hope, something that may have been helpful to us.


Since Petals began its incredible work ten years ago, thousands of couples have been supported by their counsellors and in the last 12 months alone they have delivered over 4,400 counselling sessions.


By supporting me in any way you can with  this challenge, you will be helping Petals to deliver vital counselling sessions to bereaved parents when they need it most and for opening up the space for us to feel more open about out my brother 💙