Devoted mum laces up trainers to say thank you to charity for supporting her family

A devoted Mum is lacing up her trainers in preparation for London’s Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust.

Katrina Hardy, 41, from Bishop’s Stortford will be running one of the most popular half marathons in the country to say thank you to the charity for supporting her with free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation when her son, Henry, was seriously ill in hospital.

When Henry was nine weeks old he was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Addenbrooke’s Hospital following a referral from his family GP where he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. Henry was treated at the specialist hospital for a week and during this time The Sick Children’s Trust supported his Mum Katrina and Dad Matthew at Acorn House, a ‘Home from Home’ just minutes from Henry’s hospital bedside. Katrina says:

“Acorn House was like a little haven away from the hospital ward. It meant we could be close to Henry when he was being treated in PICU and it was so comforting to know that we were just a few minutes’ walk away from his hospital bedside at all times.

“We live over 40 minutes away from the hospital, so without Acorn House we would have had to travel to and from the hospital every day which would have been a nightmare. I couldn’t bear to leave him so we would’ve been really stuck.

“We were supported by The Sick Children’s Trust for five nights and we will be forever grateful to the charity for giving us a homely place to stay whilst Henry was very poorly. And that is why I’ve chosen to run The Royal Parks Half Marathon to fundraise for them. Henry’s now four years old and is a thriving, happy little boy who has just started reception.”

Acorn House is one of ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country supporting families with seriously ill children in hospital. Each house has private bedrooms, a shared kitchen, living room and a playroom for siblings. It costs the charity £30 to support a family for one night in a ‘Home from Home’ and The Sick Children’s Trust relies entirely on voluntary donations to do this. Abigail Abdel-aal, Acorn House Manager, says:

“We’re delighted to hear Henry is now doing well and are so pleased to have Katrina on Team SCT for The Royal Parks Half. Katrina has trained hard for the event and we know she will do brilliantly on the day.

“Katrina has already reached her fundraising goal of £350 bur hopes to raise over £800 which is fantastic and will give so many families a ‘Home from Home when their child is undergoing treatment in hospital. We wish Katrina the best of luck.”

If you would like to support Katrina, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katrina-Hardy