Pair’s marathon challenge in memory of tragic baby John
Two people are running a marathon in memory of a seven-month-old baby who died from a rare muscular disease.
Nicola O’Connell, 35, and Clinton Walsh, 45, are hoping to raise awareness of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) after John Walsh died of the condition in September.
The pair have signed up to run the London Marathon next year to raise £2,000 for Demelza Hospice Care for Children in Bobbing.
Miss O’Connell, from Maidstone, said: “At six weeks old, baby John’s mum, Gemma, noticed he wasn’t feeding properly and, after several hospital visits, he was diagnosed with SMA type 1 in March.
“He sadly passed away six months later.”
SMA type 1 is a hereditary disease causing severe muscle weakness in infants and children.
Symptoms for the incurable condition usually appear within the first few months of life and, in some cases, can affect babies before they are born.
Around 95% of children diagnosed have a life expectancy of less than 18 months and babies diagnosed within the first few weeks or months of life have a shorter life expectancy.
Miss O’Connell said: “After being given a place in the London Marathon earlier this year, I spoke to baby John’s mum and asked if I could run for him and she said it was a lovely idea.
“I thought it would be nice to run for Demelza as the hospice was really good to John and his family.
“I’ve got a little boy of my own and I couldn’t begin to imagine what his parents have gone through. Hopefully we will be able to raise more awareness if we do the run for charity.”
Baby John was the child of Gemma and John Walsh, from Bexley.
Miss O’Connell will be joined in 26-mile marathon by John’s uncle Clinton, a London firefighter.
To donate to their cause visit http://bit.ly/2gaXF68 If you’re a fan of those videos of American streets doing coordinated Christmas light shows, you might be interested to know you don’t have to cross the Atlantic to see one for yourself.
Lighting up Allington, run by John Walker and Stevie Adams, is based at number 39 Castle Road, Allington.
The couple started the venture last year to raise money for Heart of Kent Hospice in memory of Mr Walker’s godmother, Barbara Burt who spent time at their towards the end of her life.
They added another string to their bow earlier this year with their Halloween display.
Their Christmas one features around 16,000 lights, a snow machine, a Santa Claus and of course, music, and is one of the biggest yet. “Each song takes me, on average, about 15 hours to sequence, although some of the more tricky ones take a lot longer,” Mr Adams said.
Shows run every half an hour from 5pm until 8.30pm, until New Year’s Day.