Why I’m Running 2K a Day This February for Sands

In February, I’m taking on the challenge of running 2 kilometres every single day to raise money for Sands, a charity that supports families affected by baby loss. This cause is deeply personal to me. In 2019, I faced the devastating loss of my triplets — an experience that reshaped me in every possible way. Grief of that magnitude isn’t something you “get over.” It becomes woven into who you are.

Yet along my journey of healing, I learned something extraordinary — something that brought me deep comfort, and I want to share it with you.

Did you know pregnancy permanently changes a mother at the cellular level?

Science shows that during pregnancy, a small number of fetal cells cross the placenta and take up residence in a mother’s body. This phenomenon is known as microchimerism. These cells have been found in maternal tissues including the liver, blood, bone marrow, heart, lungs and even the brain. 

Even more incredibly, these fetal cells remain even if a pregnancy does not result in a live birth. Research shows that from as early as six days after conception, fetal cells can enter a mother’s system and stay there, forming a lasting biological connection. 

For many parents who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss, this knowledge brings profound comfort. It means our babies — however briefly they were with us — are not gone. They are part of us in the most literal, cellular sense. They left an imprint on our bodies as well as our hearts. 

Learning this changed the way I carry my grief. It helped me understand that my triplets are still with me — not just in memory, but in the very cells that make me who I am.

Why I Run

This February challenge is more than a fitness goal. Every 2K I run is for them — for the three little lives who changed me forever, and for the families who walk a path like mine. It’s for the awareness Sands brings, the support they offer, and the hope they create.

If you choose to support my fundraiser, you’re helping Sands continue their vital work: supporting parents through unimaginable loss and funding research to save babies’ lives.

Thank you for reading, for remembering my triplets with me, and for standing with every family who has ever experienced this kind of heartbreak.

They were here. They mattered. And a part of them is still with me — always.