I'm supporting Shine by taking on the Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Sunrise Challenge in 2024! so please take a few minutes to read our story.

Most people that are close with me and my family know that our son Luca was Born with Spina Bifida, however for everyone that didn't know about Luca's condition let me go into further detail why I will be raising money for Shine and why I want to spread awareness for Spina Bifida.

At 20 weeks me and my partner got the news no parent would like to hear which was they found a Gap on Luca's lower spine and that he had a condition called Spina Bifida. Both me and my partner had never heard of the condition before, so were immediately referred to Specialist's who deal with Spina Bifida, who explained in great detail the many complications this can cause within the human body due to the nerves being exposed because of the spinal cord being open. The most common effects would be his mobility, bladder/bowel problems, and hydrocephalus.

Luckily my partner was eligible to be able to have surgery to hopefully correct any further damage. We were fortunate enough to give Luca the best chance at life. 'Open Fetal (Keyhole) surgery' was performed at 27 gestation whilst Luca was still in the womb. This surgery consisted of closing the spine with a dissolvable patch before any further damage could take place.

Luca Was Born on the 21st December 2022 which meant he stayed in the womb for a total of 38 weeks and 6 days, which was very good for his development!

Despite of Luca's disability, he is absolutely smashing life and is proving everyone wrong every single day. We are very proud of him.

The main reason I am doing this trek, is to raise awareness for my boy and anyone who has Spina Bifida, but to also show how much we all take for granted without even realising it! It may sound silly to some, but If you can walk around unaided or even be go the toilet without being catheterised you are so lucky! Most people don't realise it but until someone close to you can't do these most basic things, you will soon see things from a different light. Our lives have changed massively but in such a positive way. We are very grateful for all the help and support we have had along the way and we would like to give that back by supporting the Shine Charity and to also raise this awareness to everyone.

Shine have an amazing team that provides specialist support to make life easier for anyone living with Spina Bifida and/ or Hydrocephalus and with our help they can help to change someone's life for the better.

THANK YOU so much for supporting Luca & Shine!