Since 2021, I have been an avid supporter of Meningitis Now, and try to give what I can to it - it’s such an important charity.

When my son Thomas was 3 months old, he battled pneumococcal meningitis (see photo gallery) which completely floored us as a family - a time in our lives that I would never want to experience again. Whilst fighting this infection, he developed a brain clot and was having lots of seizures. This was when we moved hospitals from The Grange, to The Heath (as they have a neurology department). He was on lots of medication far after being discharged to dissolve the blood clot, and to stop any further seizures from happening.

Luckily, Thomas pulled through and is doing brilliantly. We couldn’t be more proud of him and each milestone is an absolute blessing. He has continued to be consultant led, and gets additional monitoring - which we are grateful for.

Meningitis Now firstly supports research that finds new, and enhances existing vaccines to save lives and prevent disability. Without it, I’d probably be telling you a very different story. But, it also provides specialist support to help rebuild lives so that no one feels alone. And, let’s face it - when your child is very ill, it can be an extremely lonely place.

I’m so grateful for anyone willing to support me with this. As many of you know - I’m not a particularly active person. But, I’ve been working through the Couch to 5K training plan and feel that I’m now finally able to push myself to jog / run 50km in 50 days. Please bear in mind that I struggled to run for 60 seconds, 8 weeks ago!

Thank you.