This is going to be a long one, I am apologising in advanced for this.

I am going to share with you a personal story. If you know me, you will say “but he’s always sharing things” which is true, but this one is a personal story that almost no one knows.

On the 23rd May 2023 (almost a year to the day of writing this), we had a family holiday booked to Lanzarote. It was the first time taking our eldest on a plane and we were all super excited. Two weeks before we had found out that our family of 3 was to become a family of 4. We were over the moon, neither of us had really been planning it but it set our minds that we wanted a second child and were ready for it. Got up early, taking a very grumpy 18-month-old on a pane for the first time and everything was going very well.

The first time we knew something was wrong, we were stood outside the toilets just after clearing Spanish border control. My wife said to me “I am bleeding.” We played it off as oh I’m sure its fine, its early days and I’m sure it’s just natural after the flight. We got our luggage when she started to have cramps and pain. At this point we knew for sure something was wrong. Queue the longest bus ride of my life, trying to keep it together for our little one whilst my wife sat in pain and tears. We got to the hotel and things appeared to have subsided and we held out hope that actually it had been a blip, and everything was fine. We checked in, decided to make the most of it for little. Unfortunately, that night at dinner, the bleeding and cramps had gotten a lot worse. I remember us both sitting at dinner both crying over what had happened whilst again trying to present a brave face for our little one. Luckily, we had Grandma with us, but it did not make it easier.

I remember going back after dinner and having a shower and bawling my eyes out in the shower. Partly because we had lost a child, but also because I felt so helpless with the situation we were in. Between us, we decided that we had to get it together and not spoil the holiday for little one despite what at the time felt like our world falling apart. A few days later we made the decision to go to a hospital and get checked out, which confirmed our worst fears.

I realise I said this would be a long one and I promise I am nearly done. The reason I am sharing this and raising money for the miscarriage association this year is because miscarriage is still a taboo subject. We came home from the holiday and other than the few people who knew about it, we never told anyone else. It was never discussed with anyone again, not even between my wife and I. The stigma about miscarriage is something that needs to be broken down.

In the UK, 1 in 8 pregnancies will end in miscarriage. But no one talks about it. It takes a lot to speak up and talk about it and I hope by raising this money it can help a charity who are pushing research and support for those who go through such a horrible tragedy.

Every year I do one stupid thing for charity. For many years, I worked for the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon, spending the majority of my time in Roman Attire. I am also an avid gym goer. This year I have decided to combine the two and conduct a long walk in full Roman Soldier equipment from my gym in Griffithstown to the Museum in Caerleon and back which is around 8 miles one way. My gym coach Alastair Eustace and Serena Goodwin have decided to support my with this and will be making it a gym challenge day, whereby people from the gym will walk with me carrying sandbags.

I also want to add that I am sat here right now as I write this cuddling my rainbow baby who was born seven weeks at the time of writing this.