On Saturday 16th June I am taking part in my 4th tough mudder. An 11 mile assault course filled with challenges. Once again I am raising funds for the Wishaw hospital neonatal unit.

Last year on 21st May my son Lewis was born, in his first hour the midwives noticed that his breathing was a bit laboured and sent him round to the neonatal unit. When my wife and I saw him again he was on a ventilator, unable to breathe on his own. Over the next few days bloods were taken, chest x rays done and even a lumbar puncture to take a sample of spinal fluid to check for meningitis. All the time he was being pumped with iv antibiotics and very slowly his infection markers started to come down. He came off the ventilator and onto oxygen, then was breathing unaided. His final diagnosis was neonatal pneumonia. After 10 days we were allowed to take our boy home.

In the last year our boy has come on leaps and bounds. Without the help of the neonatal unit we would have not have been so lucky. All the care he received cost us nothing through our wonderful NHS, but in these times of NHS cuts all the extra money for the unit is greatly appreciated.

Thank You