Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for supporting Alder Hey Children’s Charity as I take on the London Marathon in 2026.

It is an honour to be picked to do this. We’ve always been open about our daughter Phoebe and what Alder Hey means to us — they’ve been a huge part of our lives since I was pregnant with her. Running the London Marathon is my way of giving something back, to thank every single person who has played a role in Phoebe’s journey.

For those who may not know, Phoebe was born with a condition called Hydrocephalus — a build-up of fluid on the brain, which can only be managed with a shunt inserted through surgery. During pregnancy, we were given a lot of worst-case scenarios, but her neurosurgeon, Miss Pettorini, always reassured us: “Once she’s born, if you get her to Alder Hey, she’ll be fine.” It was hard to believe in any kind of hope at the time — but she was right.

Phoebe had her first brain surgery at just 3 days old, performed by Miss Pettorini. She went on to have another four shunt revisions in the first 14 months of her life, each time her shunt failed. Thankfully, she hasn’t needed surgery since December 14th, 2021 — and she’s absolutely thrived ever since.

It’s never lost on me that our daughter wouldn’t be here without Alder Hey and their extraordinary staff. As a parent, all you ever want is for your child to be happy and healthy. For us, that’s meant placing our tiny baby into the arms of anaesthetists and hoping with everything we have that the surgeons could make her better. They always did.

For a long time, Alder Hey became our second home. And every single time, they treated Phoebe like a little queen and they cared for her as if she were their own. I will never, in a million lifetimes, be able to thank them enough. But I like to think running the London Marathon is a decent start.

So this is my thank you to Alder Hey:

To Miss Pettorini, for giving us hope when we had none, educating us with compassion, and saving Phoebe’s life. You will always be a hero in my eyes.

To every surgeon, doctor, anaesthetist, and nurse who perform near-impossible procedures on the tiniest of bodies — you are a gift to this world.

To Mary, the first nurse who cared for Phoebe in the NICU while I was still recovering at Liverpool Women’s — you made me laugh through the tears and promised you were holding her until I could. I will never forget that.

To the team on Ward 4A — thank you for keeping Phoebe, and children like her, safe and pain-free, and for looking after us parents just as much as the children.

To the kitchen staff who made sure Phoebe had her Weetabix every morning and made her favourite meals to bring back her appetite.

To the porters, who gently transferred her from the ward, to surgery, to recovery and back again — treating her like precious cargo and always managing to make us smile.

To the play therapists, who brought joy, music, and toys to brighten long days in hospital beds.

To the cleaning staff, who kept everything spotless and always offered a kind smile or a distracting conversation to tired and worried parents.

And to every single person we have crossed paths with — thank you for making Alder Hey the miracle that it is. I will be carrying you all in my heart on Sunday, April 26th, 2026 as I power through every mile… and when I cross that finish line it will be for all of you, and for Phoebe; my brave little girl who inspires me to be as strong as she is every single day.

Let’s go!