💜 31.2 Miles for 31+2 Weeks: Rae's Ramble for the Prince Charles Hospital Neonatal Unit 💜

​Story:

​Every single step of this journey is for our beautiful daughter, Rae, and every penny raised is for the incredible team at the Prince Charles Hospital Neonatal Unit.

​Our Journey 🏥

Nothing really prepares you for the shock of having your baby arrive months before they are due. Rae was born extremely prematurely at exactly 31 weeks and 2 days gestation. In the UK, 1 in 7 babies requires specialist neonatal care after birth, but you never expect it to be your family.

​For the first five weeks of Rae’s life, the Neonatal Unit at Prince Charles Hospital became our entire world. It was a terrifying and uncertain time, but the doctors, nurses, and support staff became our absolute lifeline. They cared for Rae with a level of kindness and skill we will never forget. Just as importantly, they supported us as parents, guiding us through the toughest ordeal of our lives.

​The Challenge: Rae's Ramble 🥾

We’ll never truly be able to repay the team that gave Rae the best possible start in life. But we want to give something back so that the next family who walks through those doors gets the same incredible standard of care.

​On Saturday, 3rd October, our family will be undertaking "Rae's Ramble" — an exhausting 31.2-mile trek along the Taff Trail, heading south from Merthyr Tydfil towards Cardiff. (Expect our fox red Lab, Kanu, to be putting in a shift on the trail alongside us, too! 🐾). We deliberately chose 31.2 miles to symbolise the exact point Rae was born: 31 weeks and 2 days.

​How Your Donation Helps 💷

While the NHS provides the essential medical funding, charitable donations are what elevate a neonatal unit. They fund the extra specialised equipment, family comforts, and support services. Following its recent expansion, the Prince Charles Hospital Neonatal Unit relies on these funds to support its 19 cots and care for the region's most vulnerable infants.

​We are aiming to raise £1,500. To give you an idea of the tangible impact your donation makes:

​£25 to £50 provides special memory boxes and diaries for families documenting their baby's difficult early days.

​£60 buys specialised neonatal breastfeeding pillows, allowing mothers to comfortably hold and feed their tiny babies.

​£579 funds a secure iPad for a cot, allowing parents who can't visit to observe their baby remotely, vastly reducing the trauma of separation.

​Larger amounts go towards crucial life-saving medical equipment, like apnoea monitors or advanced incubators that keep babies warm and safe without needing to be moved.

​Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us say a massive thank you to the heroes at Prince Charles Hospital and supports the tiny lives they save every day.

​Join Us! 👋

We would love for this to be a big community celebration. You are warmly invited to join us for as much—or as little—of the walk as you'd like on October 3rd. Whether you want to tackle the first few miles, join us for a section near Pontypridd, or just walk the final flat stretch into Cardiff, we'd be honoured to have you alongside us.

​If you can't join us on the trail, you can still make an enormous difference by donating to this page or sharing it with your friends, family, and networks.

​Thank you so much for your kindness, encouragement, and support. It means the world to our family. 💜

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