Alex and I will each be running a half Marathon to raise money for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.

Read our story here:

On Thursday 18th April at 29 weeks pregnant, I gave birth to our second son Otis who was just over 10 weeks early and weighed a tiny 2lbs.

I had already been in hospital for a week under close observation due to being a high risk pregnancy when we were informed that our baby would be taken into Intensive care, however nothing can prepare you for the heart wrenching agony of being separated from your baby at birth.

The day he was born, Otis was taken straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Rosie hospital in Cambridge, where he was incubated, given ventilation breathing support and cared for 24/7 by the incredible doctors and nurses.

There were lots of ups and downs in those first weeks as we navigated this traumatic time but were told that once Otis was well enough, he would be repatriated to our local hospital.

One month later on Saturday 18th May, Otis was transferred to The NICU High Dependency Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.

With very little prior warning, we waited terrified at 1am, for his safe arrival in an ambulance from Cambridge.

Having spent 4 weeks in Cambridge, with no prior knowledge of the different levels of ICU's and their funding, we were shocked by the difference in facilities at Harlow. Leaving him there that night was one of the hardest moments I can remember.

After that weekend, Alex returned to work and I spent every day at the hospital caring for Otis as much as possible given the circumstances.

Eventually he moved from HDU to special care and graduated from his incubator and breathing support to a cot with oxygen. Finally I could pick him up more than once a day and cuddle him.

For 6 weeks, the nurses and doctors at the hospital not only cared for Otis and prepared him to come home but they cared for me too. They spent hours sitting with me, ensuring I was getting the help I needed as well as showing me how to care for my baby. Despite our apprehensions of being transferred to a lower level ICU l I truly believe that we were sent there for this reason. The nurses were my angels.

On Monday 24th June, Otis finally came home.

We are so thankful to all the team at Harlow for helping us get our baby home safely and for continuing to support us on our journey.

We would like to raise money for the NICU at the Princess Alexandra Hospital so that they can invest in some of the incredible resources we experienced in Cambridge, and support other parents experiencing the trauma that we lived through.