On the 3rd September 2020 my son Theo was born at 26 weeks gestation (3 months early!). Our whole world was turned upside down after my wife's (Lucy) waters broke unexpectantly and within 3 days our son Theo was born into the world. The premature birth was difficult enough as it was, but it also happened in the midddle of the first 'lockdown'. Having a premature baby in the middle of lockdown was extremely difficult as you can imagine and something we were certainly not prepared for or had even imagined we would have to experience. We were not allowed to hold him together or see our new born baby together as a couple. Theo was put on breathing support and spent his first 3 months in hospital. This meant constant back and forth trips, with my wife often spending up to 8 hours a day in the hospital. There was a lot of support information in the hospital provided by Bliss. The support leaflets and info were a a great help and guidance with learning how to cope in this situation. Through Bliss we had some one to one calls arranged with their support workers, and this direct communication really helped to give us an understanding of how to cope in the situation we were faced with. I have decided to run the London Marathon so that I can have an opportunity to give back to them as a way of showing my appreciation and all the money I can raise will go to a fantastic cause and help other families and babies who experience  premature birth.

1 in every 7 babies born in the UK will need specialist care.Bliss is the leading UK charity for babies born premature or sick. They rely on donations to fund their work, and without our help they won't be able to reach the 90,000 babies needing neonatal care each year.Your donation to my page will help Bliss to drive improvements in neonatal care, to ensure that the needs of babies are at the heart of policy and planning for the future, and to provide information and support to all families with a baby born premature or sick.