This month, I am taking part in the Marathon des Sables - running 156miles across the Sahara Desert, carrying everything I need including food, clothes and sleeping gear on my back. It is the equivalent of 5.5 marathons in 6 days!

I’m raising money for the bereavement midwife team at both Nottingham Hospitals; who provided so much support to us in the initial months after losing our baby daughter Beau.

We hope that any money raised will help to sustain and develop the invaluable support and services this team provide, for other parents who will sadly follow the same path we did, but will have a helping hand to lead them through it thanks to the bereavement midwives. 

They listened, held hands, gave hugs and gently navigated us through all the official processes for which we had absolutely no headspace at that time. They understood that we needed to be in a quiet space away from the celebrations of the maternity ward - a purpose built ‘serenity suite’ - which we could use as much as we needed in those first days saying goodbye to Beau. Without this quiet place and our bereavement midwife, I can’t imagine how much more difficult our journey would have been. 

Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

Lee