We are the proud parents of Barnaby Williams. On 8th February 2024 we held our boy in our arms for the last time.

Tragically & unbelievably, I held Chris, my husband in my arms for the last time on 23rd January 2025.

Here is our story…

On Monday 28th February 2022 Barnaby started to complain of headaches and came home from school, he had never missed a day from school.. this was very unusual. We took him to the doctors twice that week but in true Barnaby style he was determined to go into school and was adamant he wouldn’t miss his guitar lesson on Friday 4th. As a parent you know your child better than anyone so we decided to keep him home from school. It was that morning myself (mummy) witnessed one of these headaches and I knew straight away something wasn’t right. I took him to A&E as the doctors didn’t have any concerns and suggested a blood test. After 12 hours of waiting in A&E in Coventry I had to push for a scan, to anyone else Barnaby looked well and healthy. He was so engaging to anyone he met and made an effort to make people smile. It was around 9pm at night when the doctor took me into a side room and said ‘We have found a mass in his brain’. I walked back in the room to see Barnaby and he had a crowd of nurses around him on both arms urgently trying to insert a cannula for the steroids. We were then blue lighted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, on Monday 7th March 2022 Barnaby had brain surgery. The gruelling treatment started the following month, high dose radiotherapy and high dose chemotherapy. The treatment is so harsh for the human body that he had to have his own stem cells removed and frozen to help his body recover after the chemotherapy. He took it all like a champ and in true Barnaby style he made the most of everyday. Chris & I divided our time between the hospital and looking after Beau and juggling work for most of 2022 - we were all delighted to see Barnaby ring the bell and come home just before Christmas.

Unfortunately just 10 months later his cancer returned in his spine as well as his brain. Barnaby taught us and is still teaching us what real courage, love and resilience is.

In August 2024 Chris was experiencing headaches, being super cautious I took him to the doctors where he was prescribed medication for migraines. I needed to rule out the unthinkable so fought for an MRI, it was the opticians that picked up pressure behind Chris’ eyes. After waiting for 15 hours in A&E he finally got scanned and were told he had an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was operated on 8th August, six months to the day that Barnaby died. Chris was reunited with our boy on January 23rd 2025.

Taking on the London marathon was our biggest challenge yet & every step of the training journey and the marathon on April 27th 2025 is for our beautiful baby boy.

Now without my husband by my side - I will take on this challenge and hopefully do both my boys proud!

Our dearest friend, Rachel Irons will be running in place of Chris..I know Chris would be so proud of Rach and know we will look after each other every step of the way!

Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity is so close to our hearts and we will never stop doing our bit to help poorly children!

At Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, the mission is to raise the vital funds needed to make a real difference to all who use the hospital. Your donations are helping us to find new ways to treat and cure childhood diseases!