Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In March 2015 my sister in law, Rachael, announced some great news - she was expecting her first child! The weeks rolled by, then over a week in April Rachael's health deteriorated dramatically. At first it was expected Rachael had an infection, following a recent trip abroad, and she was admitted to the Royal Derby Hospital to be monitored. Unfortunately, after a week of uncertainty, testing and differing diagnoses, Rachael was eventually diagnosed with Crohn's. For those that don't know, Crohn's is an inflammatory bowel disease, leaving sufferers malnourished and in a great deal of pain, amongst other things. What was worse in this case was Rachael had a very bad case of Crohn's, with serious damage to her large intestine, and a number of fistulas had formed. Oh...and she was still pregnant.

When first diagnosed with Crohn's the doctors saw surgery as the very last option, due to the baby. It soon became apparent however, after a number of attempts at treatment, that it was the only option. Had they not operated when they did, with a day to spare, Rachael and the baby would not have survived.

A week, two life-saving emergency operations, the loss of her entire large intestine, and a medically induced coma later, Rachael still wasn't out of the woods. Due to all the stress on Rachael and her body, the baby's future was in serious doubt and Rachael was declared to be in labour at just 22 weeks. Could it get much worse?

But actually it got better! For the first time in weeks, Rachael and the baby were on the mend. The pregnancy has continued, and is expected to get to full term, and after a number of weeks in Royal Derby Hospital, Rachael is continuing her recovery at home.

UPDATE: On the 22nd August 2015, Rachael gave birth to a beautiful little chap called Leo. He is a healthy little baby, and is doing really well.

I am running the London Marathon so people like Rachael get the support they need, since 300,000 people in the UK currently suffer from Crohn's & Colitis. I am also running in the hope a cure for this terrible and debilitating disease will one day be found! 

Thank you for your support & donation!

Info:

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.