Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Emma and there are three reasons why I am raising money for Bath RUH's forever friends space to grow appeal. Their names are Kimi, Dillon and Gil. They are my three beautiful sons who were born three months prematurely in December 2006 weighing only 1lb 9, 1lb 10 and 2lb 14.

Without the excellent level of care and attention that they received and the boys fight and determination to survive  there would not be such a happy story to tell today. We owe so much to the amazing staff at the NICU unit. They work long hours in difficult surroundings but always have a smile or reassuring hug just when you need it. NICU's facilities are woefully inadaquate, it is dark, hot, stuffy and over-crowded. The boys spent much of thier 11 week stay in a room no bigger than a broom cupboard - I could infact touch both side walls at once! There was also no natural light and there was no privacy as we shared this room with other sick babies and thier families.

When I learnt about the space to grow appeal, I racked my brains to come up with a way to repay the care that was given to my family in anyway I could. Having never run more than a mile in my life, running events didn't even feature as possibilities. However, if so many people can expend so much effort in helping my boys get through their first months, then I will do the same. So, I have committed to run the Bath Half Marathon on March 7th. I'm not a runner, those of you who know me can vouch for that!!! But this is my chance to raise funds for the planned new unit before the appeal closes this summer. Training so far has been incredibly difficult for someone who has never really run before,  not only the effort in running but also being hampered by the weather and finding the time when trying to care for 3 boisterous 3 year olds, but it's such a worthy cause and I hope my efforts can help in some small way.

"Every little bit helps", as Tesco's remind us, so anything that you can spare for a donation, be 1 or 100 pounds would be greatly appreciated. 1 in 10 families would benefit from an improved purpose built NICU. The current unit does not even have an area nursing mothers or where bereved parents can grieve thier loss. Full details of the new unit can be found at www.foreverfriends.co.uk

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. Although Just Giving take a small admin fee, by ticking the box for Gift Aid on your donation, these costs are more than covered, so it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you and wish me luck for 7th March!!!

Emxx