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From March until October 2016 I will be completing a number of running challenges in aid of the James Hopkins Trust who provide respite care for my son William.

I will begin on 20th March with the Forest of Dean half marathon.

4 weeks later on the 24th April I will complete the Stratford Upon Avon Marathon which will be followed 4 weeks later by the Worcester Marathon on 22nd May.

On the 19th June I will the aim to complete the full 39 miles of the Cheltenham Challenge.

On the 9th September I will return to Cheltenham to complete the Cheltenham half where I will attempt to beat my PB for a half marathon of 1 hour 44 minutes. This will be followed by another attempt at my PB on the 2nd October as I run the Cardiff half marathon.

 I am also hoping to add a few more events between July and October which I will update this page with as I enter them.

Over the 22nd/23rd and 24th October I will be completing 'William's Journey'. This is my own designed three day event (each day being around 50km in length), which will see me run from Gloucester Royal Hospital, William's birth place, to Bristol (where he spent many months in Intensive Care) and then from Bristol via the Forest of Dean (our home) back to the James Hopkins centre in Gloucester. This will be a multi-terrain run taking in parts of the Severn Way, Offa's Dyke and the Gloucestershire Way. I will be covering around 94 miles over the 3 days.

William's Story

William was born on the 19th July 2012 in Gloucester Royal Hospital. He was born 11 weeks prematurely and had an incredibly rocky start to life. William spent his first 5 months in hospital during which time, and after suffering a number of respiratory and cardiac arrests, it was discovered that he had some form of muscle weakness which affects his ability to breathe and swallow. William came home for Christmas in 2012 and after contracting a respiratory illness in February 2013 suffered a massive cardiac arrest which saw his heart stop beating for over 30 minutes. After being told that William would not survive he made a remarkable recovery and after 2 months in intensive care came home again. Unfortunately he then suffered another respiratory arrest in July 2013 and once again spent 2 months on intensive care in Bristol. Since then William has spent a number of prolonged spells in hospital. He has often stopped breathing and there have been times when this has happened when out shopping or in the back of the car.

Due to William's condition he is unable to swallow food and so has been tube fed for his entire life. He is unable to walk or talk and finds communication a real struggle. Despite this William is a cheeky, happy three year old who winds up his older sister! Everywhere that William goes he has to travel with a suction machine, ventilator, oxygen cylinder and sats monitor. He sleeps at night with a ventilator. This has all had a major impact on our family life and our ability to complete even the simplest of tasks. Even a trip to the shops is a major military operation with William's equipment. It has also meant that William can only be left with people that are trained to deal with his medical needs and this is where James Hopkins comes in.

The James Hopkins Trust have quite simply been our lifeline. They have provided us with invaluable respite care. Each week William is collected by Gemma his respite nurse and taken to the James Hopkins Centre. These valuable hours have allowed his mum Fay to return to work as a teacher and have given us more one to one time with our daughter Annabel. James Hopkins also provide us with one night of overnight care every couple of months. They have quite simply been amazing but they are a charity and can only remain operational with donations.  

The Trust costs over £470 000 per year to run and is currently helping over 90 families. The centre is unique and contains a sensory room, sensory garden and highly skilled nurses and staff who are incredibly passionate about the work that they do and the children and families who they support. Please give generously.

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