Craig's 30 in 30 for Theo Smith
Craig Morrison is raising money for Ripples of Compassion
In memory of Theo Smith
Story
In December 2019 the world of my very best friends was changed horribly forever and somehow their bravery, strength of character and strength in each other has meant they are in the place they are now! They also had incredible support from Ripples of Compassion and have both spoken of how this is another huge reason for the way they feel.
In this heartbreak, and as a father myself I wanted to support the work of Ripples so more families who have to endure heartache like Matt and Emily, can get the much needed support they should be receiving! Theo was a smiler and brought the best out in his family and so I want to run in his memory and raise as much money as I can. Although the pain of running 30 half marathons and over 400 miles in one month doesn't get near their pain I am going to endure it to encourage people to donate. So please give anything you can.
I also asked Matt and Emily to write something about the gorgeous boy that Theo was. Please read their tribute to him below:
When you are blessed with a child, no-one can ever tell you how much of an impact they will have on your lives. Theo was our first baby, he made our lives better than we could have ever imagined. Theo’s life was filled with love and happiness, his character shone through in everything he did. He enjoyed everything, from eating snacks and watching rugby with Daddy, to playing cars, going to the zoo and having big snuggles with Mummy or Daddy. He loved blowing bubbles in the bath, and throwing a ball in the garden (or the house!!). His smile lit up any room, and he could hold a conversation with us better than any two year old I know.
December 2019 was just like any other Christmas period, it was filled with excitement and joy. I never forget Theo’s excitement at seeing the Christmas tree and all of the presents underneath it! In fact it was quite a task to stop him playing with the presents!
On the 17th of December 2019 however, all joy and excitement was ripped from our lives when we woke to find that our beautiful little boy had been cruelly taken from us with no explanation or reason.
Following Theo’s passing, both myself and my husband Matt have spent the last year and a half in a very deep dark hole of depression and anxiety, and in all honesty could have easily given up there and then as our lives had crumbled in front of our eyes.
We were put in touch with Ripples of Compassion by a friend of ours, and despite their charity mostly helping families who are dealing with childhood cancer, they were more than happy to help us, providing Counselling services for both of us individually. These services have continued throughout this horribly painful period in our lives, and I would attribute a lot of our growth in this period to the work of our counsellors and to Ripples of Compassion.
Someone once told me that grief is like a river, sometimes you’re drowning and sometimes you’re wading in the shallows........all I know is that the pain of grief never goes away, we will always be in that river but hopefully as time goes by we will spend more time wading in the shallows, and less time drowning.
Matt and Emily XX