Story
So the race has been run. It was a very emotional day for all of us, and the course was extremely hard, but we managed to get round (eventually!) in 2 hours 30 mins.
Thank you again to everyone who has sponsored us, passed on the GBSS website details or turned up on the day to cheer us on, we really do appreciate all of your support.
In memory of Samuel who was born asleep 15th June 2009. We love and miss you dearly.
Jacks and Paul xxxxxx
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Less than 24hrs to go until the big race, the nerves are kicking in, and for once we are going to have to remain sober watching the football tonight!! But its absolutely worthwhile. The amount we have raised is truely amazing.
On behalf of all of the family we would like to thank everyone for their generosity and support.
We will keep you posted on the results tomorrow....
Group B Strep (GBS) is the UKs most common cause of life threatening infections in newborn babies. Whilst it is meant to be very rare in causing stillbirth, GBS currently infects around 700 babies a year, of whom sadly 75 or so die, and around 40 survivors suffer long term problems as a result. GBS can be easily diagnosed and treated, however pregnant women are not made aware of this bacteria simply because of money. A test will cost approx £32, not a lot to save a babies life. Had my sister been made aware of this, then it goes without question that she would have gone ahead and been tested.
In order to raise much needed funds and awareness of GBS, and in memory of Samuel, we will be running in the St Albans Half Marathon on the 13th June this year.
The half marathon (13 miles) will be a challenge for me, not only because I have a dodgy knee, or the fact that I have never run this far before, but this also falls on the date a year ago, that we received the tragic news. This will be a challenge for Paul as he would never have run so slow before! We really hope that you will support us, not only financially, but also in raising awareness for GBS. If you know someone who is pregnant please just forward them the GBS website details. They can then request a test from either their midwife or a laboratory: http://www.gbss.org.uk/index.phpIt will be a highly emotional day for all of us, but we can try to turn a tragedy into something positive, and make pregnant women aware that they are entitled to be tested, to hopefully prevent anymore unnecessary deaths.
Finally, we just want to thank all of you for the love and support you have shown during such a devastating time in our lives. We really could not have got through this without you. Samuel will not die in vain – we can make a difference….
Thank you Jacks and Paul x