On the 23rd of Septemeber, we are running in the Great Bristol Half Marathon in support of the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at St Michaels Maternity Hospital.

Money raised will go to:

1. A transiluminator which is a special light source/ torch which you use to find a baby's veins when you need to put in a Cannula. It makes it much quicker and easier for Doctors and Nurses to perform this painful procedure and avoids babies being distressed by repeated attempts to find their very small veins with a sharp needle!

2. Bedding for the Butterfly Room. This is a bedroom for parents whose babies are very ill. Staff want the room to look as nice as possible, but there are lots of other things that their budget needs to buy, so they asked us if we could raise the money.

Why are we doing this?

Dominic Britton: "When I was born my mouth wasn't joined to my stomach and as a result of the treatment I had I am lucky to be fit and healthy enough to run my first half-marathon. Bridget was in charge of all the equipment on NICU when I was born and is still in charge now. She tells me I used just about every bit of kit on the ward when I was there, so I thought it was a good idea to try to make up for it."

'The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St Michael's Hospital is the only unit in the South West region offering the highest level of care to critically ill and premature babies from Bristol, the South West region and South Wales.

The hospital treats over 800 babies each year, from those born as early as 23 weeks, to babies requiring life-saving treatment and care when they are born at full-term.'