Our very good friend Annie is running the Oxford Half Marathon and will be taking Ophelia around the course with her to raise money for SSNAP, a charity that means a great deal to us.

At our 36 week scan we were told that Ophelia had fluid in spaces where brain should be and after further tests we found out that she had suffered a brain haemorrhage while in utero. Up until this point our pregnancy had been fairly normal and at such a late stage we were preparing for Ophelia’s arrival. The final 4 weeks of our pregnancy were very uncertain and we were given a variety of possible outcomes as a result of Ophelia’s condition and were told we should prepare for a stay in the Neonatal Unit.

Before Ophelia was born, we were given a tour of the neonatal unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford by the team at SSNAP. Walking through the unit was overwhelming and emotional as it wasn’t somewhere anyone imagines spending the start of their babies life, and we had no idea how long this may be for. The team at SSNAP showed so much kindness, explaining what to expect and answering our questions and helping to replace some of our fear with reassurance.

Thankfully our time in the neonatal unit turned out to be short and Ophelia had no immediate complications, however during this time the team at SSNAP went above and beyond for us as well as every other family like ours going through possibly one of the hardest times of their lives.

We are raising money for SSNAP because we have experienced firsthand how important that support is. Their kindness helped carry our family through this time, and by fundraising we hope to help them continue to support other families.