At the start of 2008 my husband and I started our second cycle of IVF. We both so desperately wanted to have a family and experience the joys of children and in March we received the wonderful news that we were pregnant with a due date of late November. On the 24th July 2008 I went into premature labour and gave birth to our son, Ryan, who weighed just 1lb 2oz. Ryan came too early and at 8:40am he was born sleeping. We were devastated and the following days, weeks and months were filled with the raw emotion of loosing a child. Looking back we were lucky to have had the support of a great family and excellent friends who helped us get through the days, taking it one step at a time. 

On the 18th August 2009 we were blessed with a baby girl, Emily. Emily is our miracle gift from Ryan and she is the centre of our world but every single day I miss my son dearly and his loss hurts today just as much as it did 18 months ago. They say time is a healer but that is not true, time just allows you to learn to live with your loss, which is what we are slowly starting to do. 

As 2010 stretches out before us we have so much to look forward to; holidays with our baby girl, her first birthday, and of course another Christmas but I wanted to also make 2010 the year that my family and friends remember and honour the memory of our baby boy. 

Following the loss of Ryan I was desperate to know why it had happened but I found myself frustrated with the lack of answers available. Sadly, our story isn't uncommon and many premature births go unexplained. Tommy’s the Baby Charity is a charity giving babies the best chance of being born healthy through funding medical research into the causes of premature birth, stillbirth and miscarriage. Tommy's fund three research centers, one of which is St Mary's in Manchester, which is where Ryan was born and is therefore very close to our hearts. Tommy's also raise awareness of the facts and provide free, accurate and up-to-date information for medical professionals and parents-to-be. Every parent has the right to a healthy pregnancy and baby and Tommy’s aims to halve the number of babies that die during pregnancy or birth by 2030. This is where you can help...

On Saturday 27th February, in memory of Ryan, and while raising money for Tommy’s I am going to jump out of a flying aircraft at 10,000ft and freefall at 120mph. I have wanted to do a skydive for years but just never got round to it so it seems fitting that I “take the plunge” and with your help we can make a difference.

Please dig deep and support me to raise money for Tommy’s so that they can research around pregnancy issues like miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth and try to prevent any mother, father or their families going through the traumatic experience that we have. The birth of a child should be the happiest day of a parent’s life and not their worst nightmare.

In anticipation of your generous sponsors I would like to say a big thank you - I will keep you updated on how the big jump goes.

Jo xxx

For more information on Tommy's the Baby Charity and ways you can help, visit http://www.tommys.org