So, I’m running the Manchester Marathon in April 2023 and am raising funds for some new equipment for the Northampton Health Charity, in particular for babies and their parents admitted to Northampton hospitals, NICU and Gosset ward.

Both of our kids Otis and Alban were born prematurely with breathing difficulties. With Otis we stayed in the hospital for 11 days after his birth before heading home. With Alban it was almost 2 months in total with stays at Northampton and Leicester Children’s ICU. Fortunately, thanks to the amazing NHS staff at both hospitals once the Boys were well enough to no longer be ventilated  the hospital allowed us to stay on site in family rooms so we could continue bonding with our babies while they fully recovered. 

The level of care our boys and we received whilst at the hospital was nothing short of incredible and to see how hard the nurses work around the clock to ensure your little ones are being looked after is beyond words.

With any luck most of you will not need to experience a few weeks in an NHS family room, but I can’t stress enough how important they are for families who are  trying to connect, build confidence and trust with their babies having been separated from them for days/weeks, sometimes without being able to hold or touch them while they’re in intensive care. 

The rooms also provide a shower which is obviously a nice thing when you’re staying at hospital for a month or two.

 So here comes my charity bit;  these rooms are by no means glamorous and perhaps like much of the NHS they could do with a bit of TLC. 

Which is why I’m running the 26 big ones in Manchester on the 16th of April 2022 to try and re-pay just a little something to this wonderful hospital so other family’s who might find themselves in a similar situation can build relationships with their newborns whilst they improve under the watchful eyes of the amazing NHS staff at Northampton General hospital.

I know times are super hard for lots of people but if you can spare anything, even the amount of one coffee it would really help and get me through the training and those Manchester Miles. 

Thanks for reading and see you at the finish line.

Big up the NHS x 

Jack x 

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