I think its fair to say we underestimated how incredible the NHS is before we had children. Since having them though, there have been countless trips to A&E to glue heads back together or to spend a few nights in the children's ward with spiked temperatures and chesty coughs; the teams of staff always on hand to reassure and make sure you are seen to as a priority with young children.  

We are  lucky to be in such close proximity to such amazing hospitals where we live, and when our middle child Barnaby became very ill very quickly at 16 months old, we couldn't have felt more lucky. Initially Barney was treated at Wythenshawe Hospital for suspected meningitis but after 2 days of tests, it was picked up that his bowel had collapsed that he was rushed to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. Within an hour, Barnaby received lifesaving surgery from one of the top paediatric bowel surgeons in the world and was then looked after so well by all the staff in PICU and finally Ward 77. It was without doubt one of the scariest 2 weeks of our lives and it is fair to say that but for the RMCH, our lives would be very different! 

So, we would love to give something back to this amazing hospital and hope you can help us to achieve this!  Aaron and I will be running the London Marathon in October this year and would love to raise a minimum of £3000 for the RMCH. We will be training hard and will be taking part in various runs leading up to the event including the Manchester Half Marathon on May 22nd. 

As a charity their mission is simple: to support the excellence in treatment, research and care they provide to their patients each and every day. They want to make a real difference to the people they treat – young and old – by making sure that they continue to receive the very best treatment in the very best facilities.

Please support us in anyway you can, we are grateful for any amount you would like to donate for this incredible hospital! Thanks in advance for your support!

Katie and Aaron xx