So… Sean, Olly and I (David) are taking this opportunity to go on a night walk on the 15th of September 2018 to raise funds to support the charity Embrace, and help them to contribute to the needs of the Neonatal Unit at East Surrey Hospital. Embrace aim to make time spent on the Neonatal Unit as positive as possible for parents and their babies, as well as the wonderful staff.

A very personal reason:

On 22nd December 2017, my Wife and I welcomed our wonderful twin babies into the world. They came 8 weeks early, and for this reason had to spend several weeks in the Neonatal unit. This meant our first Christmas as a family would be spent in hospital. It is a time we will never forget.

On Christmas day we arrived in the morning to gifts of festive photos of the babies, and stockings filled with teddies and blankets for them. And the best present of all: we got to hold our little boy for the first time. As the days progressed our little girl made progress and was moved to a lower dependency room while our boy remained in the higher dependency room. New Years Eve came with even more good news, as our little boy was moved to the same room as his Sister. With both babies next to each other, we were able to take our first family photo – 9 days after they were born. Over the next few weeks, they moved from incubators to a twin cot and steadily put on weight. Mom was then admitted to Transitional care with the babies in preparation for leaving.

Eventually, on the 28th Jan 2018, we tucked our babies up in their car seats for the first time and drove them home.

Without the amazing care/professionalism/friendliness/support/advice of the members of East Surrey Hospital Neonatal unit I have no idea how we would have coped. Embrace a charity based in Redhill had a major part to play in all this and their continued support of the East Surrey Hospital Neonatal unit and parents of children in the unit is invaluable.

I have never done this before; the longest I have walked is probably 6 miles. Now I’m going on this mammoth walk. Fortunately I have two fairly experienced walkers joining me on this walk (Olly and Sean) look at those faces.

The walk:

The walk (15th of September 2018) we are doing is approximately 33 miles from Eastbourne to Lewes following the Southdowns Way, which we are starting around 6pm (Are we nocturnal?). We will be walking until we finish this come rain or shine (please don’t rain)! See image for a rough guide to the route.

Please help us in our journey by donating. We are looking to raise a minimum of £500 for this cause.