Story

Every year more than 103,000 children and young people experience the wonderful warmth of Evelina London; my son Atlas is one of them.

At 7 weeks old (January 2025) my husband and I called an ambulance, unhappy with how our son was breathing and behaving. By the end of the day we received a devastating diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease. He had two heart defects, a coarctation of the aorta and a large VSD. We were told he would need open heart surgery within 10 days; 6 days later he underwent a nearly 7 hour surgery. We lived at the Evelina for 28 days in the sky cardiology ward, and PICU. The Drs, the nurses, the nurse trainees, the speech and language therapists, the play team, the dieticians, occupational therapists, the physios, the therapists, the dinner staff, cleaning staff - everyone - the entire Evelina team - ARE MIGHTY. They met us at our worst with compassionate, clear and supportive care; our son is now thriving, thanks to Evelina's world class treatment and groundbreaking care.

So I am going to run this marathon - my first - to try and raise funds for the place that gave us back our boy, and ensured we get to be the family we always dreamed of; because this little trio want every family to have the support, treatment and care we have benefitted from, and for those that work in the hospital to have the space, support and time they need.

To give you an idea of the impact of your donation:

* £15 could help buy VR technology that helps to distract children from sometimes scary procedures.

* £25 could help fund magical sensory equipment for therapeutic play sessions.

* £50 could contribute towards pioneering research so children get the best care.

Thank you so much for your support!