Before I go into my fundraising challenge, here is a bit about my story… My son Cooper was born 6 weeks early and believe it or not he was tiny! Due to him being born so prematurely, we found ourselves spending the first 10 days of our new life as a family in the neonatal unit in Stoke Mandeville. As daunting as it is suddenly being in charge of a new baby, having to do it when your new born is being kept in an incubator in the neonatal unit makes the whole experience even more challenging. However we quickly realised that we had nothing to worry about as we found ourselves surrounded by some of the most fantastic people I have ever met. We had a team of the most caring, professional, kind and dedicated nurses to help us through those first 10 days. Not only did they take care of Cooper and gave him the best possible start in life but they also looked after my partner, Clare, and helped her adapt to her new role as a mother in such difficult circumstances which is so much more than we could have ever wished for. These dedicated nurses are without a doubt the unsung heroes and deserve all the praise they can be given for the work and support they give people at this amazing but hard time in their lives. I cannot thank them enough and I will never forget what they did for me and my family. So as a small thank you I am trying to raise some money for the Stoke Mandeville neonatal unit - I wasn’t sure what my challenge should be and when I spoke to my good old rugby buddies I should have known that they weren’t going to suggest something sensible!! They have challenged me to grow my hair until the end of November and for those of you who know me well, hair hasn’t been a feature on my head for a number of years now!! So if you want to laugh at the mini afro that is now growing on my head and donate to these amazing people then just follow the link below, any amount however big or small will be greatly appreciated.