My son Forrest suffered from birth asphyxia when he was born last December and didn’t breathe for over 30 minutes. Thanks to the wonderful medical team based at the in and the use of the ‘cooling technique’, where Forrest’s body temperature was reduced to 33.5 °C over 3 days to enable his body to recover, he is a very happy, healthy 8 month old baby boy.

As a result of our experience, my wife, Heidi and I have become in involved with ‘Sparks’, a children’s charity whose sole remit is to fund research across the whole spectrum of paediatric medicine. is at the forefront of the baby cooling technology which saved Forrest and which has boosted the survival chances of other infants who suffer oxygen deprivation during delivery. The ongoing research has also reduced the number of babies who suffer brain damage as a consequence of their birth trauma.

Forrest is our world, he is such a joy and we can’t imagine life without him. We were incredibly lucky but with only 1 in 6 babies responding well to the current treatments more research needs to be funded and undertaken.

I will be running the marathon on behalf of next year and aim to raise in excess of £2000. By sponsoring me, you will be contributing to a truly worthwhile cause and your money will help to ensure a positive outcome for more babies like Forrest. I would be incredibly grateful for any donation you can spare.