On the 26th of April 2020, John and I will be running the London Marathon to raise money for Action on Pre-Eclampsia. Running a marathon is something I never thought I would ever want to do but after finding this charity, I would love to support them and raise as much money as possible.

On the 29th of November (5 weeks before my due date) I was advised by triage to attend hospital urgently as they thought I was displaying symptoms of pre-eclampsia. I felt extremely unwell and on arrival to hospital, I was advised that my blood pressure was extremely high and I was at severe risk of having a stroke. A plan was immediately made to deliver Jack as quickly and safely as possible. 

Following an emergency caesarean under general anaesthetic, Jack was born and was absolutely perfect. I, however, became very unwell and needed to stay within the High Dependency Unit. I had developed HELLP syndrome which is a life threatening liver and blood clotting disorder. I also suffered from acute renal failure and was very close to requiring kidney dialysis. I ended up spending the first week of Jack’s life bed bound- I could barely hold or feed Jack without help (one benefit was that I avoided all the dirty nappies for the first week! Ha!). As my kidneys were not working, fluid and the medication I was on was building up in my body which made me sleep for the majority of the day. This was a difficult time and John was thrown in at the deep end, having to do everything for baby Jack since I couldn’t. 

The staff and our families were amazing at helping us and there is no way we could have managed without them. I am not ashamed to say that I struggled mentally following the trauma of Jack’s birth and often became upset and angry that I could not remember meeting my son for the first time. It has taken me a long time to come to terms with what happened to me and I truly wish that I had known about Action on Pre-eclampsia at this time as I so desperately wanted support from people who could understand what we had been through. 

Pre-eclampsia is the most common of the serious complications which can develop in pregnancy. Although I had a difficult time, I was one of the lucky ones.  Every 6 minutes, a women dies as a result of pre-eclampsia.  I am extremely grateful to the fast actions of the hospital for helping me as quickly as they did. 

I did not know how serious this condition could be. I was never given information about this despite being monitored for it throughout my pregnancy.  That is why I want to raise money for this charity.  Last year, their fundraising from the marathon alone allowed them to provide leaflets about pre-eclampsia for all women receiving their pregnancy packs.  I really hope to make even a small difference by completing this massive challenge!  I am so happy to be running alongside John for this charity. Please support us if you can.