This April I will be taking on the iconic London Marathon in aid of Meningitis Now!

What can make a 20 stone, 40 year old bloke, who hasn't run for 5 years and moans at Vicky 'Why are we going hiking?' if she parks more than 4 spaces from the entrance to a shop, decide to run marathon?

His daughter.

On 7th December 2024, 11 days before her first birthday, Vicky and I heard the words that no parent wants to hear: "We think Poppy has Meningitis, so we are going to put her to sleep to protect her brain". Time stood still and Poppy was put into an induced coma.

Poppy was rushed to Bristol Children's Hospital where our fears were confirmed. She had Bacterial Meningitis (Meningococcal Group B or Men B).

We feared we may lose her, we feared she may never walk, talk or smile again and so many other real possibilities that Meningitis can bring.

Poppy spent the next 4 days in intensive care plus another 13 days in hospital. She underwent hundreds of invasive examinations plus numerous brain scans, lumbar punctures and blood tests. We spent her first birthday in hospital and made it out just in time for a very subdued Christmas.

As a result of Meningitis, Poppy is now profoundly deaf in her left ear and moderately deaf in her right ear. She will wear hearing aids for the rest of her life.

Yet we are the lucky ones. Meningitis is a killer. Meningitis Now has a vision of a future where no-one in the UK loses their life to Meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need to rebuild their lives.

Poppy is currently doing well, smiling constantly and hitting her milestones, but the long term effects are not yet known. We are just enjoying her for the superstar she is. My hero.

If she can go through that and come out smiling, I can run for a few hours to support her and Meningitis Now.

I will be updating my Facebook page during my training and hope you can help me with some words of encouragement along the way.

Please support me with whatever you can, every penny counts.