Hi there, I'm Sam, thank you so much for visiting my fundraising page.

A little about me - I have a wonderful husband Campbell and the best son in the world who will be 2 in May, his name is Fyn. I am a keen runner and completed 2 half marathons last year, one with Fyn in his buggy - I think we broke the rules - ooops! I love my friends, especially when they arrive at my door with wine and do my best to fulfil all important areas of my life - family, work, friends & running.

On 26th May this year I am running the Edinburgh Marathon (eeek the full 42.2km!!) to fundraise for Tommy’s who provide expert advice and fund pioneering research to prevent stillbirth, miscarriage and premature birth.

Fundraising for this charity is extremely personal to my family.

Here is our story;

I found out I was pregnant mid December 2023 - 2 days before the busiest day of the year at work (I work in hospitality). This was a shock however Campbell & I were over the moon, knowing this little baby would complete our family. Almost immediately the sickness started. I didn't have much morning sickness with Fyn so secretly hoped this was the little girl I'd always wanted. For the record, I love being a boy mum however I'd like to not be outnumbered in our house! Due to my sickness being so bad I told my work colleagues as I didn't want them thinking I'd decided to have 1 too many wines before our busiest days over Christmas, and tbh I was just so excited with our news.We also told our close family & friends. Never let anyone tell you you are telling people too soon or too late, just do what feels right to you, with what happened next I was extremely grateful lots of people knew as I had so much support around me.

Fast forward almost a month we had booked an early scan just to make sure everything was ok and our scan with the NHS would have taken me to 14weeks and we were just too excited to wait that long. The morning of, I went a 10km run to start the day off well. I thought about our little baby the full time, grateful this was our time and also loved having a little running buddy with me. After my run the three of us headed out to the scan unit. Campbell and I chatted the whole way of our hopes & dreams for this baby, how great a big brother Fyn would be etc etc.

Our scan started off perfectly - one baby, healthy heartbeat. It was a really happy time for about 5 mins. As the sonographer continued the scan her full facial expression changed. She stoped and put down her equipment and told us that unfortunately, despite the healthy heartbeat the pregnancy sac was too near my cervix and that I was about to miscarry.

It was weird, it was as if my brain just rejected the conversation. I just kept saying "are you sure, are you sure, but the heartbeat is so strong..."

I'm not really sure what happened for the next 10 minutes, I know there were lots of tears and Campbell asked what our next steps should be.

I got up to go to the toilet (when you have a scan in the 1st trimester you have to fill your bladder to be able to see anything on the ultrasound) and by the time I'd reached the bathroom I was already bleeding. I was just numb, I'd just heard my baby's heartbeat, how and why was this happening?

We went home, in silence, I cried the whole way. Campbell spoke to the early pregnancy unit and they advised as it was a Saturday they wouldn't be able to see me until the following day, they also explained what the next 12 hours was going to entail.

The next 4 hours were horrific, the pain was nearly as bad a labour, the amount of blood was insane. I just sat in the toilet knowing I was loosing my baby and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Was it because I'd run that morning, was it because I'd worked so much over the last 6 weeks? The questions and self doubt still haven't stopped iff I'm honest.

Campbell was going between parenting Fyn and holding my hand - he was truly amazing. One thing I was not prepared for was actually passing the baby, I felt it happen and seen its tiny little sac and developing body inside. How had I heard its heartbeat only hours before? It honestly broke me.

The next week was awful, multiple ultrasounds & blood tests to confirm there was no sign of pregnancy. The hormone drop was insane. I basically cried for 7 days straight, felt extremely depressed and just couldn't move off of our sofa. I barely ate or slept. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was lucky to be given a full week off work on compassionate leave, there is no way I could have held it together and faced the public over that week.

I came across Tommy's website in my desperate attempt to make sense of everything, to read about other people's experiences and to gain some resources. Honestly this was a bit of a saviour in my whole experience. I felt great comfort in knowing I wasn't alone and also that many, many women had gone on to have successful pregnancies after miscarriages.

I was 8 weeks pregnant when I lost our baby. Every miscarriage counts. If you are 2 weeks or 22 weeks it all counts. It hurts both physically and mentally. I am so sorry to anyone who has gone through this.

The disturbing fact is 1 in 4 pregnancies result in miscarriage. 1 in 4.

Your sponsorship allows Tommy’s to continue their vital work – in short you’re helping save babies' lives.

Please give generously, your support means the world to me.

Thank you for reading.

Lots of love,

Sam, Campbell & Fyn xx