This March, I am participating in the "To Holles Street & Home - 100km in March 2025" challenge to raise funds for the National Maternity Hospital. Holles Street holds a special place in our hearts, as last May, our daughter, Lucy, was born prematurely at just 25 weeks gestation. Weighing only 855 grams, she faced a very long and hard road ahead of her and had a 50/50 chance of survival. During her time in the neonatal intensive care unit, she endured two IVHs on her brain, one grade 4 and one grade 1, Chronic Lung Disease, A PDA in her heart, multiple resuscitations, intubations, 5 blood transfusions, and endless courses of steroids and antibiotics. For the first few weeks of her life, she was ventilated and later required CPAP until just a week before coming home.

In total, she spent an incredible 103 days in the NICU at Holles Street. Despite all she faced and thanks to the dedication and expertise of the amazing NICU nurses and doctors at Holles Street, she is now thriving at eight months old. We count our blessings every day and are forever grateful for everything that Holles Street has done for us. The staff wrapped their care around us too as parents and always had a shoulder to cry on and lots of positivity to get us through the many hard days we had in there.

This fundraising effort is a small way for me to give back and will hopefully help other families who will unfortunately face their own NICU journey in the future. I kindly ask you to support this cause by donating if at all possible. Your contribution will make a significant difference in the lives of many families navigating similar paths.

Thank you so so much.

Ciara x