Story
Some of you already know our story, but for those of you who aren't aware, this is the reason why a group of us are running the Great North Run again this year:
On the 4th January 2017 aged 3 weeks old, our beautiful daughter Mali had a cardiac arrest in the car park of the RVI hospital. She had contracted a virus that caused swelling in the brainstem, known as brainstem encephalitis. The damage caused by the virus led to her being permanently ventilated, and she spent the following 7 months battling for life in Paediatric Intensive Care.
Mali never recovered from the effects of the virus and we lost her aged just 17 months old. The majority of her life was spent in hospital.
During the excruciatingly difficult days, weeks and months spent by Mali's bedside, we found some comfort and were able to make some happy memories thanks to the work of a charity - Team Evie, who are now very close to our hearts.
Team Evie was set up by parents of a former PICU baby, Evie, who sadly lost her battle too.
They provide support, physiotherapy and sensory equipment including games, books, IPADS, TVs, baby mobiles and music boxes, without which our time would have been all the more difficult.
Since Mali passed away last year, they have provided us with bereavement support and we have kept in regular contact with them. We would like to help them continue the fantastic work they do by raising as much money as possible in Mali's memory.
Thank you for reading our story and for supporting a wonderful cause