Story
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">On 17 April, Chris is (very foolishly) taking on the London Marathon and from 6-9 July Jemima is cycling from London to Paris.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In doing so, we’re hoping to raise as much money as possible for two premature baby charities which are very close to our hearts.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Anything you can donate would be greatly appreciated.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">On 26 November 2009, our twins Florence and Jack unexpectedly entered the world at just 26 weeks and 2 days, weighing in at 790 grams and 900 grams respectively, each less than a bag of sugar. We were told it was unlikely that they would survive the birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Against all the odds, they battled through thanks to some wonderful nursing and expert medical care at a number of London hospitals, including Chelsea & Westminter and Kingston. Jack came home last March followed a month later by his big sister. As you can see from the photos, they've come a long way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Both twins are now going from strength to strength and we're very hopeful that they will continue to do so.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The road ahead is a very long and dark one when your children are born so early. We were indebted to the support, not only of family and friends, but also of Bliss, the only national charity dedicated to improving both the survival and long-term quality of life for babies born too soon, too small or too sick to cope on their own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In particular, the advice of Bliss and their publications helped us to make sense of all the monitors, wires and operations that were needed to keep the twins alive. Their reassurance was invaluable. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">1 in every 9 babies in the UK is born either premature or sick. That is over 80,000 babies every year. Every six minutes another baby is admitted to a special care baby unit. The vital care that premature and sick babies receive after birth can have a profound impact on the rest of their lives.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As well as providing emotional support and guidance for families affected, Bliss fights and lobbies hard to combat the desperate shortages in specialist nursing and medical staff, as well as funding crucial research into the care of premature babies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">We will be donating 10% of all the funds we raise to the Kingston Hospital charity "Born Too Soon".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This charity offers wonderful on-site support to parents like us who have babies in the Kingston Neo-Natal Unit, as well as raising funds for the purchase of specialist life-saving equipment for the Unit. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Thank you so much for your support. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Chris and Jemima</span></p>
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