After an uncomplicated pregnancy my daughter Saoirse arrived on the 14th of December 2023, where after a traumatic labour she was born not breathing. She was resuscitated and taken straight to NICU where she was treated for sepsis, PPHN, hypoglycaemia and put in a medically induced coma for cooling. We were told she may not survive.

During her 6 week stay in NICU we learned she’d suffered from hypoxic ischmic encephalopathy (HIE) which left her with brain damage likely to cause lifelong disabilities. No one can tell us what impact this will have on her future, but we do know that early intervention while she’s young can be so powerful in rewiring the brain through neuroplasticity.

To raise money to provide all the different therapies needed to give Saoirse the best possible life, I along with Jacob, Jake, Martyn and Oli (as support driver) will be cycling from Edinburgh to Exeter in May with a few other friends joining us and/or giving us somewhere to stay along the way. As many of you know, I’m not built for speed or endurance and none of us have done a particularly long distance cycle before so if nothing else it’ll be enjoyable for you to see us struggle for 900+ km.

I’d be forever grateful for any support you can give, thank you for reading.