I'm raising money for the Owen McVeigh Foundation in memory of mine and Hayley's little boy, Maxwell.

Maxwell was born in January 2023, full of smiles and giggles and fitted in to our lives perfectly - he was the missing piece in our puzzle and we couldn't have been happier. At 3 weeks old, we moved to our forever home as a family of four with his big brother Austen.

Maxwell was first taken ill in June 2023 and he was observed at Whiston Hospital. After a number of visits, a CT scan was ordered where a shadow was noted on Maxwell's brain. He was rushed to Alder Hey Hospital on the 28th June and admitted to the HDU. Following an MRI scan which confirmed the presence of a brain tumour, an immediate plan was set to have an EBD fitted to relieve the hydrocephalus symptoms and later a operation to remove as much of the brain tumour as possible.

Unfortunately, following the resection, the tumour taken from Maxwell was diagnosed with as an ATRT by the brilliant Dr James Hayden on the 11th of July 2023.

The 7 months that followed are the worst of our lives. An absolute emotional nightmare. The first weeks were full of anguish, sorrow, anger and perhaps some early grieving. Hayley and I are naturally positive people though, and we embraced the hope that Max might get better, or hope that we might have longer together as a family than we were being advised.

Throughout these 7 months, we had the support of Mark and Jo at the Owen McVeigh Foundation. They graciously included us in activities to get us out of the house first and foremost as a family, but also for me and Hayley as a couple for a couple of hours here and there.

What they arrange for children fighting cancer, and their families, are activities and experiences that are truly memorable. As a parent in the situation we were, we just didn't have the mental capacity (or the funds, but that's another story; see https://itsneveryou.com/about-us/) to make these plans. When we received the news that Maxwell's treatment hadn't stopped the tumour and he was moving to palliative care, we were honoured to be able to stay at the Foundation's 'Peacock Lodge' as a wider family to celebrate Christmas together while Maxwell was still cognisant.

I want to raise money for the Owen McVeigh Foundation so that families, who have been dealt a horrendous hand like we were, have the chance to make memories and find joy together.