On Sunday 27th April I'll be running 26.2 miles in the London Marathon. By the race I’ll have run over 300 miles in training through snow, hail, wind and rain and on dark mornings before work.

Before that I'm taking on the North Wales Coast on 2nd March, St. David's Day, to run 13.1 miles in the Anglesey Half Marathon.

I'm taking on these tough challenges because of our experiences with my son Robbie, who is turning 4 on February 9th. He is the most kind, happy and beautiful boy, but without amazing care from the Manchester Fetal Medicine Unit he would not have survived as he suffered from severe rhesus disease. This means antibodies were destroying his red blood cells while he was still in the womb, so his blood could not carry enough oxygen to his growing organs and brain.

Robbie required blood transfusions in the womb which are a risky and difficult procedure, but the team at MFT carried them out perfectly every time, with real empathy and kindness throughout. Staff stayed late to see us for emergency scans and came in on their annual leave days to give Robbie the blood he urgently needed. Robbie then spent a week on intensive care at St. Mary’s. Even after birth, he needed four further blood transfusions at Manchester Children’s Hospital.

We are forever grateful to the outstanding team at the Fetal Medicine Unit and the Children's Hospital, as well as to the anonymous blood donors who donated the lifesaving blood for his many transfusions, both in the womb and for the first months of his life.

I'd be really grateful for any donation you are able to make to allow Manchester Foundation Trust to continue to support families going through the darkest time in their lives.