On Sunday 3rd March 2013, my brother Will Weatherill and I will be running the Bath Half Marathon to raise as much money as we can for a team of brilliant people, as our very small way of saying 'thank you'.

In September 2010 my then 2 year old daughter Fenn was taken very ill and admitted to Bath's Royal Unit Hospital with suspected meningitis.  Though at the time her symptoms were puzzling, it is thanks to the quick thinking and persuasive Bernie Marden and his paediatric team that Fenn was transferred to Bristol's Paediatric Intensive Care Unit with what turned out to be a particularly aggressive Group A Streptococcal bacterial infection emanating from her right leg. The infection swept through her body at such a rate resulting in septicaemia that nearly claimed her life.

After a week in intensive care, Fenn's condition stablised though the infection proved challenging to manage with antibiotics alone.  After a further month in hospital, she underwent 4 operations on her leg in an attempt to flush out the infection out directly though not before her hip joint had become dislocated under the stress of the infection, resulting in her being encased in a hip spica cast for 6 weeks.

Today Fenn is a very happy 4 year old who lives a full and active life, though the aftermath of the infection resulted in growth plate damage to her femur which will require corrective surgery over the coming years until she stops growing.  However it could have been a very different story...

This episode has involved several medical teams for which we are so thankful for their care and expertise. This year we are fundraising for Bath's RUH Paediatric Unit, who made every effort to manage Fenn's deteriorating condition and engineered the speedy transfer to Intensive Care before it was too late. 

All donations are greatly appreciated. 

Many thanks for your support.

Helen Bertin and Will Weatherill