A LOVING mum will be lacing up her running shoes to take on the iconic London Marathon to raise vital funds for a charity which cares for her son.
Adelaide Daniels, from Braintree, will be facing the 26.2-mile challenge in April for Little Havens.
The hospice provides specialist care and support for babies, children and young people living with complex or incurable conditions.
Adelaide has been inspired to run because son Oscar has been cared for by the hospice for five years.
He was born with quadriplegia cerebral palsy, which affects movement in his arms and legs.
More recently, in 2021, Oscar started suffering stomach problems.
He also had a burnout from dystonia, another movement disorder Oscar lives with, which affected his brainstem and is something he cannot recover from.
Oscar and his family visit Little Havens, in Benfleet, for respite and to help manage his symptoms.
He has everything he loves around him, and the respite can be fun on his good days, or it can be a restful stay with around-the-clock care.
They are also supported by the charity’s community team at home, which means the whole family is given “a chance to rest”.
Adelaide said: “It’s much more to us than respite. They help to get the best out of each day for Oscar.
“They want to make Oscar happy, and that’s what Little Havens does for us as a family - nothing is impossible.
“The first thing that comes to mind when I think of life without Little Havens is loneliness.
“With Little Havens, we are surrounded by people who understand what you’re going through and love our children as much as we do.
“It would be a very, very lonely time without them.”
Fundraising for the hospice is Adelaide’s way of giving something back to the charity and thanking them for the support they have provided in some of her family’s toughest times.
She continued: “Without the fundraising, Little Havens wouldn’t exist.
“It’s so much more than somewhere children come to be cared for. They come here to be loved, to be supported, to be themselves.
“Please don’t stop fundraising because it wouldn’t exist without you.
“To anyone who has ever supported Havens Hospices, you’ve given families like mine a lot – so much more than you will ever know.”
To donate, click HERE.
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