About Xander:

I owe the Children's Hospital a big big thankyou. My son Xander was born in 2016, but during my pregnancy we discovered he wasn't developing as normal. Xander had PUV meaning he had a blockage and couldn't pass urine, this put extreme pressure on his bladder and kidneys in the womb. Xander defied all the odds and arrived safely but at 8days old was transferred to the Children's Hospital for surgery to remove the blockage before his condition worsened.

We stayed in the hospital a further week in NSU where Xander was monitored and looked after and then we were trained by the Urology nurse there to catheterise Xander daily (something that thankfully we could stop doing 6months later) so that we could go home. 

At 2years Xander has an enlarged bladder wall and mild stage chronic kidney disease. While he is a wonderfully happy, intelligent and active little boy we still need to regularly attend Nephrology Clinics to track Xander's kidney function, Dietician appointments for help with diet choices (to make things easier for Xander's body) and have Ultrasounds ("Doctor put jelly on my belly" Xander says) to check on everything, so we are at the Hospital frequently.

Xander is a walking miracle and day-to-day has a normal life, but managing his appointments, medicines, diet and procedures can be hard for me and my husband. We have been supported every step of the way by the amazing team at the Children's, from Urology and Nephrology doctors, to the Dieticians and general nurses, support workers and reception staff. Xander gets prodded and poked each time we go yet he never fusses about going back, because all the staff are wonderful with him and make sure he is as happy as he can be when he's there.

We are so fortunate that this team is on our doorstep in our hometown and just want to give back to them for the amazing work they do and have done for us.

About Me:

So for those of you that don't know, about a year and a half ago I did sign up to do this race and unfortunately I suffered a debilitating sciatica flare up a week before and couldn't participate (or even walk properly for a while). I was due to run the race to support the Sick Children's Charity who sheltered us in the second week of Xander's life while he was in NSU and allowed us to stay next door to him. I managed to raise a lot of money for the charity and although disappointed with not making the race I had put in 4months of training, with a newborn, as a first-time mum, so felt like I had still achieved a lot.

My back has continued to be a problem, flaring up worse a year later and I have been into a Physiotherapy programme for it, but I feel like I am at a stage where I can manage it myself now. This means I am no longer scared to give things like this a go and push myself. However on the day I realistically know there is a chance I may have to walk a bit of the race and it is only fair any donations are made with me being honest about that from the start. Either way I will cross that finish line this time, walk or run!

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