Four years ago, my six-year-old son Hugh died from a rare cancer. In those ten months of treatment at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, my wife and I learned what every parent of a sick child comes to know that while the focus is rightly on the child, parents are thrown into crisis too. They must be strong for their child, but they are left without the support they desperately need.

We set up It’s Never You in Hugh’s memory to change that. The charity provides parents with emotional and practical support, from free counselling and financial help through our Hughy Fund, to peer networks and guidance through our Children’s Cancer Platform. At the same time, we are leading the campaign for Hugh’s Law the right for parents to take paid leave when their child is critically ill, something shockingly absent from today’s society.

On 12th October, I will walk from Addenbrooke’s Hospital to Downing Street more than 100km carrying the weight of my son’s memory on my back. I am doing this to raise vital funds for parents currently living through what we lived through, and to take their voices all the way to the Prime Minister’s door to ask for more support for parents through Hugh's Law.

Every pound raised will go directly to families who “never thought it would be them” helping them cover the costs of hospital stays, providing counselling, and ensuring they are not alone in the darkest moments of their lives.

Please support me in this walk. Together, we can give parents the help they need and fight for the change they deserve.

🦋 Thank you for standing with us.