In memory of Carys Chan-Russell, our precious daughter and first child, sadly stillborn at 41 weeks on 3rd January 2019. Losing a baby at any stage of pregnancy is terrible, but this unexpected and tragic loss had a huge impact on us both. Death is a difficult subject at the best of times and, speaking from experience, the death of a baby causes indescribable grief and trauma to those affected.

I’m running the Royal Parks Half marathon in October in memory of Carys and to raise money on behalf of Petals, a brilliant charity offering specialist baby loss counselling. My wife and I have found the counselling invaluable in getting through the last 2.5 years. We continue to rely upon a specialist bereavement counsellor introduced to us via Petals and I can’t speak highly enough of the work they do.

Please consider sponsoring me. Your donations mean a lot to Gail and me and also to Petals, a small charity doing invaluable work for bereaved parents everywhere.

About Petals
It's a sad reality that in the UK, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. 1 in 200 babies will be stillborn every year. Over 5000 pregnancies will be terminated for medical reasons each year. And 24 babies die shortly after birth every single week. For many parents, these tragic deaths result not only in grief but also in trauma. Our counsellors provide a safe space to guide parents through the grief and trauma of their devastating experience to a place of reconciliation and hope for the future. We do this through our free counselling service, which specialises in supporting those parents who have lost their pregnancy or baby. Our national online video counselling service provides psychological support to people across the UK. By supporting this challenge you are helping raise money to fund counselling sessions for bereaved parents. These sessions provide a lifeline to parents who otherwise may not get the support they need. So thank you.