”Whatever you do, don’t touch your newborn baby!”

That’s what I was told two hours after giving birth to my first child. She suffered a large brain bleed and any form of brain stimulation, such as touch, noise or smells, could do permanent damage or worse. Weeks of intensive care followed, watching our baby from afar and abandoning the ideas of skin-to-skin bonding that is drilled into expecting parents.

The absolutely incredible team at charity SSNAP looked after me and my husband, offering everything from mental health support, a footstool for swelling legs, to a cup of tea.

Five years on, I want to give back to the team that made the worst weeks of my life a bit less miserable. In April 2027, I’m running my first ever race, a full marathon in the spirit of mental and physical strength.

About SSNAP

While a baby has specialist treatment at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, SSNAP provide vital support to families. They also fund equipment for the unit, invest in training for NHS staff, run Little SSNAPlings and support research projects.