Ella Sleath

Why I’m taking part

This September, I’m taking on Sands’ 50k challenge — walking 50km throughout the month to raise money for a charity that means a huge amount to me.

My husband will be away with the military at the time, and I’ll be taking on this challenge just four months postpartum. I’ll be power-walking my way through the 50km with my two-year-old on my back in a carrier, my four-year-old riding alongside me on his bike, and my baby girl in the pram. I won’t be running all of it, simply because, with a two-year-old on my back, he’s a little too heavy — although I might sneak in a few runs without the kids if I get the chance!

I’m taking part because my pregnancy with my daughter was incredibly frightening. I experienced a very large subchorionic haematoma and had several hospital stays, with multiple scares that I might lose her. At one point, I was transferred to a specialist NICU, and during my time in hospital I was surrounded by other women going through the unimaginable heartbreak of pregnancy and baby loss. I remember the fear of sitting there wondering whether my baby would be okay, while hearing other families receive devastating news. 

My subchorionic haematoma was not a small or straightforward bleed. I was given an 80% chance of miscarriage, and when I began haemorrhaging, my doctor genuinely believed I was losing my baby. I was also told that if my membranes had not been as strong as they were, I could very easily have lost her. There were so many points throughout that pregnancy where we genuinely didn’t know if she was going to survive, which is something I will never forget.

I was incredibly lucky to make it to full term and, after everything we had been through, I was able to give birth to my beautiful, healthy daughter at home. But I know that many of the women I met during that time did not get the ending I was fortunate enough to have.

That experience has stayed with me, and it’s why Sands is a charity particularly close to my heart. I want to raise money to help Sands support families going through pregnancy and baby loss, and to help make sure nobody has to face that devastating experience without support.

So, 50km it is — one power walk at a time, with my children beside me, and hopefully raising as much as possible for a cause that means so much to me. 💜