Two brothers take on Robin Hood Half Marathon for Neonatal
Matthew and Lewis, two brothers from Nottingham, will be joining our band of runners at the start of this year’s Robin Hood Half Marathon. The reason? Matthew’s son Mason underwent life-saving care after being born with an abnormality.
Matthew explains how Mason’s journey started.
“My wife Sophie and I had a rollercoaster ride to our dream of a family. We’ve experienced two miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy but on 27th March, we received the magical news that we were expecting.
After multiple complications, our little miracle, Mason arrived on 6th December at 1:46pm. When he was born, unfortunately, he was struggling to breathe. It was then that the hospital discovered that his windpipe and food pipe were connected, which is known as Tracheoesophageal Fistula. This abnormality happens during pregnancy and affects 1 in 3500 babies.
This was very unexpected for us as nothing was picked up throughout the pregnancy. As time passed and we anxiously awaited to be reunited with our little boy, things took a turn for the worse. The consultant advised that he had to perform a procedure which would place a breathing tube to help Mason breathe. However, we were advised that if this couldn’t be done, we’d need to prepare for the worst as this was life-threatening for him.
Our world came crumbling down with this news and we just couldn’t process what we were being told. No family should have to prepare to say goodbye to their baby.
After what felt like the longest wait in the world, they informed us that the procedure was successful. Mason was then transferred to QMC, to go to theatre at just 24 hours old.
He spent over 7 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and it was a heartbreaking and anxious time for us all. We were just praying that he would continue to fight. The hours, days and weeks just merged into one but despite this, he continued to amaze us daily, and all we could do was to be at his bedside every second.
It was then we decided that if we were lucky enough to bring our boy home, we would try and take our journey to help as many other babies as possible, and families who may face what we did. We can’t put into words the feelings and thoughts, which continue to stay with us to this day, from being a NICU baby. We never in a million years thought it would happen to us.
We had so much love and support from family and friends, but understand that’s not always the case for everyone, so we want to support them the best way we can. Therefore, raising money was just one of the small ways we felt we could repay the people who got us here today.
I’ve never run a half marathon before but wanted to raise some money as a way of paying back the hard work the NHS did in saving our boy. I also wanted to challenge myself and being in the military, I’m no stranger to pushing my limits. Me and Lewis are training as hard as we can and running most days and together whenever ever we can.
Having a baby in the hospital is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, so running 13.1 miles is nothing in comparison. Any money that we raise is money that can be spent on helping other people who will sadly be in the same position we were in the future. That’s what matters, that’s what counts in the end.”
Mason’s uncle Lewis will be running alongside his brother. Matthew and Lewis have always been close, as Lewis explains.
“I’ve always been close to Matt and Sophie and was best man at their wedding in 2022. Becoming an uncle for the first time was the most special thing that ever happened to me.
However, the precious moment of Mason’s arrival became a real-life nightmare in the space of just a couple of hours. It was the most upsetting scenario I’ve ever been in and watching Matt and Sophie go through that pain was unbearable. We were all just clinging to hope.
A name was never given to Mason upon his birth, as Matt and Sophie wanted to look into their baby boys’ eyes before confirming a name. After several weeks of visiting them in the NICU, they sat me down to announce that they had given him a name, and that Lewis would be one of his middle names, so his name ended up being Mason Lewis. It was an incredibly special moment for me.
Before committing to this half marathon, my physical activity levels, diet and lifestyle meant it would have been impossible to even consider signing up to this, let alone finish the run. But the training has started, and I’ve never been so determined to put the graft in. It’s not going to be easy but I’m working harder than ever to make the changes necessary to do this.
Becoming an uncle changed my life. This run is a way of giving back to the team that save the life of our little miracle.”
We wish Matthew and Lewis the best of luck, and we can’t wait to see them on the start line at the Robin Hood Half Marathon. There’s still time to run on behalf of Nottingham’s NHS hospitals. Get in touch with our team to find out more.