Kyrie and Craig with Quinn, Jude and Nyah
Worthing father undertakes 12-hour burpee marathon to raise money for Rockinghorse
Craig Peters decided to undertake a twelve-hour continuous burpee challenge to help raise money for Rockinghorse Children’s Charity following the support his twin sons received at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.
Very special twins
Quinn and Jude
Quinn and Jude are typical six years olds and really into dinosaurs and football, but they had a difficult start to their young lives. When their mum Kyrie was 20 weeks pregnant with the boys, she had to undergo keyhole surgery to rectify the twin to twin transfusion syndrome that the boys were suffering from.
Twin to twin transfusion is a rare condition that occurs when there’s an imbalance in the placental blood vessels that connect the twins. It means that the blood flow isn’t even between the babies with one getting more fluids than the other, putting both at risk.
Luckily the surgery was successful, but the boys were born soon after at 26 weeks weighing only 1lb 8oz each. Despite being so premature Jude and Quinn were soon out of hospital and back home. Unfortunately, Quinn was then diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, a rare affecting his bowel and which meant further surgery and extra treatment to fix the problem.
Wonderful support
The family had to spend a lot of time in the Alex during this time and Craig got to see the amazing support they provide to families; “You can’t put it into words. You can say ‘thank you’ and fund raise but nothing will ever measure up to the support they provide. And it’s not just the treatment and care, it’s the little touches like asking if the parents need anything, that go such a long way. We will never forget that.”
Craig Peters
The challenge
Since the twins were born Craig has done a lot of fundraising for the charities that supported the family and he recently set himself the 12 hour burpee challenge in support of Rockinghorse, the official charitable arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s hospital.
So, over last Saturday night he made a start on what would end up as an amazing 4,470 burpees, raising just under £1,500. And despite being in pain, the sense of accomplishment that Craig felt was exhilarating; “I’ve burnt the skin off the tops of my fingers, I’ve pulled something in my right quad and it hurts to sit, stand, walk and lie down, but would I do it all again? In a heartbeat.
“I will fundraise for the rest of my life. I won’t stop and I’ll go as long as my body will take it. Sharing our stories and making a difference to raise awareness and influence people is incredibly important to me. We’re very lucky as our boys are safe and well now but there will always be other people going through similar experiences and that’s why I will carry on.”
Lucy Pond, Challenge Fundraising Manager for Rockinghorse, explains why fundraising events like Craig’s are so important at the moment; “Rockinghorse has been significantly impacted by the current COVID-19 situation due to the cancellation or postponement of many of our biggest fundraising events. But support from people like Craig really does make an enormous difference. These donations help us continue to provide essential support to the NHS and families with sick children.”
If you’re interested in raising money for Rockingorse, contact Lucy Pond, Challenge Fundraising Manager on: lucy@rockinghorse.org.uk. Or to donate to Craig’s burpee challenge, click here to go to his Just Giving page.
