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August 2nd could have forever been the worst day in my life. It was the day my sister went in to Royal Berks Hospital to give birth to her daughter, the first any of us siblings have had. It was supposed to be a day of celebration but it quickly turned into a day of pain, anxiety and fear.

Something had gone wrong. My niece had not got any oxygen in her first few minutes of life and as a result was in a critical condition. She was rushed up to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford that night and my sister taken too. It was the worst possible news and we were unsure she would pull through.

Fortunately, through the tremendous effort of the staff at John Radcliffe, the resilience of my sister and the spirit of my newborn niece, she made it through and is now the most playful, happiest child she could be.

August 2nd is now a day we celebrate every year.

On September 24th we are doing our very first Tough Mudder challenge. Initially this was just a fun activity to challenge ourselves with but after a few discussions we decided we should use this date to try and help a charity which has impacted our lives.

I asked my sister if any charity had helped her with her daughter and that's when she told me about SSNAP. Whilst in John Radcliffe, SSNAP were recommended to her to help through the difficulty of the situation and to ease some pressure. She was in the hospital for a few weeks after the birth but eventually had to move off the ward. As we lived in Reading, travelling to and from Oxford everyday would not have been realistic and made the situation far more difficult. SSNAP arranged to have a house for her to live in, free of charge, until such a time that she could take my niece home.

I started looking into SSNAP and saw how much more they offer to families going through times as painful and anxiety ridden as the one my same family went through. They provide a crucial service to the most vulnerable at potentially the worst situation of their life and that deserves some support.

So we are looking to help raise some funds to support SSNAP in their 40th year where they have set a goal of raising an additional £40,000. We are putting ourselves through the Tough Mudder challenge and hope to help all the Tough Mothers, Fathers and families who are going through a tough time.

We appreciate your support.