Selena Williams was born prematurely at 23 weeks on 6th October 2010 at Frimley Park Hospital. She was just over 1lb in weight. She was quickly transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at St. Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, where she was given the most wonderful care and attention during her short time with us.
Sadly Matt and Lisa's little girl was just born a little too early, and she passed away at two days old. The precious time that Matt and Lisa were able to spend with Selena was made possible by the amazing staff at St. Peter's Hospital, who devoted enormous amounts of time and energy trying to keep little Selena alive.
The cost of running a Special Care Baby Unit - even for a week, a single day - is enormous. Some of this cost is met by the NHS, but to provide the specialised equipment needed for the little ones the Unit relies on charitable funds.
The Early Births Fund was set up with the specific aim of supporting the Special Care Baby Unit at St. Peter's. It relies on donations and charitable fundraising in order to provide the state-of-the-art equipment that is required by the Unit.
In order to raise funds for the Unit, Matt and I have decided in our great wisdom to run the Woodley 10k on 15th May. I have only run this distance once before, and Matt has not done any long-distance running since leaving school, so we are approaching the event with some trepidation at this stage...!
If you are able to sponsor us and donate some money towards this worthwhile cause, we would be very grateful. If you are prepared to stand on the streets of Woodley and give us some vocal encouragement on a Sunday morning, this would also be appreciated :-)
Gareth and Matt Williams
