Our beautiful Son Charlie was born on 25th February 2013, which was such a happy time. But after just five days with us, it turned into every parents' worst nightmare when he was taken seriously ill. He had only been home from hospital for one day and his sister Sophia, who was seventeen months old was loving having her baby brother home. However, Charlie seemed very lethargic and something didn't seem right.  We rushed him to hospital to get him checked but never were we prepared for what was to follow...

Within six hours of Charlie being admitted, he was being resuscitated, with nurses and doctors working around the clock to stabilise him.  He had so many tests and painful lumbar punctures.  Time felt like it went so slowly, whilst Charlie's condition deteriorated drastically.  Charlie had contracted bacterial meningitis.  The speed at which this disease took over his tiny body still haunts us to this day. His tiny body was fighting, getting through each minute and each hour.  We didn't know if Charlie would survive this dreadful disease as he got weaker and weaker.  It had taken hold of his body; he was still less than a week old.  He was cared for in the High Dependency Unit for two and a half weeks, with us not leaving his cot side.  He slowly started to stabilise. We were told it was a miracle he survived, he's definitely our little fighter and we couldn't be more proud of him.  He has sadly been left with some underlying side effects, but he is our little superstar and he manages these amazingly.

We are running the London Landmarks Half Marathon for Meningitis Now on the 29th March. They not only helped us in the very early years with emotional support and advice, but are still available to us now should we need anything.  Meningitis Now really do provide a lifeline to all families at all stages throughout this devastating illness. We are raising money so that they can continue with their research for this dreadful disease and support families who are suffering. We were one of the lucky ones.  Meningitis has a truly devastating effect and causes so much suffering.

We’d really appreciate it if you could help us raise as much as possible to support Meningitis Now, a charity that means so much to us.

No matter how big or small the donation is we really appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.

Much love,

Claire & Adam xxx

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.