Andrew Beaumont is running the London Marathon for Rockinghorse on Sunday 22 April and has kindly allowed us to share his story of the motivation behind his challenge. Here in his own words, is why he’s raising funds for Rockinghorse…
“Whilst taking on the personal challenge of running the London Marathon, I am also using this as an opportunity on behalf of my wife and I, to show our personal appreciation to all of the staff at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital (Royal Alex) and the neighbouring Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU) for all they have done for our son Noah – and the amazing work they do in looking after sick children from across Sussex and beyond.
Noah was born on 22 August 2017 and whilst he has only been around for a few months, he has been a regular guest at the Royal Alex in this time. Having been born five weeks premature, Noah was admitted to the neonatal unit (TMBU) where he received one-to-one 24-hour care for the first week of his life until he was strong enough to come home.
On 21 September 2017, Noah was rushed to the Royal Alex having been reluctant to feed and generally not being himself. Without knowing exactly what the problem was, Noah received immediate emergency treatment to stabilise him before being admitted to a specialist intensive care unit in London, where he was to spend the next week before returning to the Royal Alex where he would spend another week whilst recovering from his ordeal. Informed by a series of tests whilst in intensive care, we discovered that Noah had contracted Meningitis.
Fortunately for us, Noah has since made a full recovery and is showing no signs of lasting damage. Simply put, had we not been fortunate enough to have the Royal Alex in our locality, and if not for the immediate care he received from the amazing staff, Noah might not have been so lucky.
Just when we thought we’d seen the last of the hospital for a while, Noah picked up Bronchiolitis and we were back at the Royal Alex for a further week just before Christmas. As you can see, we owe the Royal Alex and its staff a lot, and whilst we could never fully repay them, the very least I can do is raise some much-needed funds to ensure that they can continue their great work.”
We are the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, raising money for life-saving and cutting-edge medical equipment. We also provide vital support to the neighbouring Trevor Mann Baby Unit. A specialist department for the care of premature and sick new-born babies, the TMBU treats over 600 babies every year.
All funds raised from our marathon participants this year will be going to our current appeal for the TMBU to pay for new digital radiography equipment that will allow doctors to take instant X-ray images of preterm babies at a lower radiation. To find out more about the appeal, please click here.
We do not receive any government funding and rely on the continued support of charitable donations from individuals, community groups, businesses and trusts. Andrew is aiming to raise £1,500 for our cause and would love your support for his challenge. To sponsor him, please visit his Just Giving page, here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andrew-beaumont1982.
If you would like to share your story with us, we’d love to hear from you. Call us on 01273 330044, or email cheryl.piper@rockinghorse.org.uk.