On June 3-4th this year we are all taking part in the 2017 Blenheim Palace Triathlon. This is the second time I am doing this event, and I hope to raise money for Hannah and David Cole’s Charity, “Thinking of Oscar”. The objective is to raise £100,000. We are doing this in memory of their son, Oscar Cole, who died suddenly on June 19th 2014, aged 16 months.

Below is Oscar's story. We would be so grateful should you choose to sponsor us........

On Thursday 19th June 2014 Oscar Noah Cole died. Oscar was in hospital being treated routinely for an infection and nobody imagined that he would not make a full recovery. A post mortem and investigation followed and at a meeting with his consultants at the beginning of this year Hannah and David were finally were able to understand what was likely to have caused Oscar's death. Essentially it was a combination of bad luck and bad timing with Oscar contracting Rotavirus during his treatment which in turn lead to Encephalitis, which is a very rare outcome.

The intention of "Thinking of Oscar" from the outset was to identify a cause which goes beyond one family’s tragedy to address an issue of broader social interest and the primary measure of success for the campaign will be the impact that they have collectively had in their lifetimes.

The objectives for "Thinking of Oscar" are:

The relief of sickness and promotion of the health of children, young people and their families whilst in hospital care across England, in particular but not exclusively by:

 - Providing support and activities to patients (children) their families and medical teams who strive to make their time in hospital as comfortable as possible.

  - Providing funding for the development of research and development into and the provision of improved diagnostic techniques and technology.

  - Providing increased access to relevant knowledge and data via the sharing of best practice and the application of technology.