A mum from Ashington, Northumberland, is taking on the Great North Run for a second time to raise vital funds for The Sick Children’s Trust.
Carrie Barron completed the 13.1 mile distance last year raising money to support the charity after it gave her a free place to stay at it’s ‘Home from Home’ Crawford House while her son Adam was at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI).
At six months old Adam suffered from a severe urine infection caused by a blockage in his kidney. He became so dehydrated that he had to be sedated and intubated to fight off the infection. He later had surgery to drain the infection and clear the blockage.
During this time Carrie and her husband Dave could always be by Adam’s side as they were given a warm and comfortable place to stay just a stone’s throw away from the ward at Crawford House. To thank the charity for its support, Carrie raised £849 by completing the Great North Run. Now she is doing it all again to further support The Sick Children’s Trust. Carrie said:
“In total we stayed for 11 days at Crawford House while Adam was in intensive care. Thanks to the charity’s ‘Home from Home’ we could always be with Adam rather than travelling to and from home. It was an absolute rollercoaster for us as first-time parents as Adam deteriorated so quickly that before we fully knew what was happening, he was sedated and having a number of tests.
“The Sick Children’s Trust not only gave us a place to sleep but also a calm environment away from the hospital where we could process everything and privately let our emotions out to family. It was such an invaluable resource that I will always give back to them.
“I completed the Great North Run last year and was getting ready for this year’s run before it was cancelled. I still wanted to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust so that they can support more families which is why I decided to take part in their virtual event, My GNR.
“I will now be completing 40 runs, covering 100 miles. I started on 28 June and need to do them all before 13 September, when the run should’ve taken place. I have completed 28 runs so far and not even the bad weather has stopped me! Dave, Adam and his younger brother James have all been cheering me on and I’m thrilled to be able to support this wonderful charity.
“Adam is doing brilliantly well now and apart from his scar you would never know what he has been through. He’s a healthy, extremely active six year old and he is my motivation for completing this challenge.”
The Sick Children’s Trust receives no government funding and relies entirely on the generosity of its supporters to run its ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country. Alexia Addis, Regional Fundraising Officer, said:
“Carrie is an amazing supporter of ours, not only completing the Great North Run once but now twice and we really cannot thank her enough for her incredible efforts.
“Due to many events being cancelled this year, including big ones like the Great North Run, we expect to lose up to 30% of our income. We need our supporters’ help now more then ever which is why we are so grateful to Carrie and everyone who is taking part in our virtual My GNR event.”
To find out more information about Carrie’s fundraising and to make a donation follow the link to her Just Giving Page; https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carrie-barron2
