Ultra marathon for Sienna, with Cerebral Palsy

Hello, my name is Grant and I am raising money directly for my niece Sienna who has cerebral palsy. I will be running a 52km (32.5 miles) Ultra marathon on 1st October 2022. This will be my furthest run to date, having previously taken on “standard” marathons for charity. 

 

Sienna was born in January 2017 but was tragically left fighting for her life and was rushed to Great Ormond Street for the emergency and specialist care that she needed to get through the coming weeks. Now aged 5, she can regularly be seen bearing a beautiful smile surrounded by her caring older sister Mia, little brother Harry and loving parents Danny and Kim. Despite being surrounded by love, her cerebral palsy sadly means she needs a lot more support than most children her age. The support required includes needing physiotherapy sessions and specialised equipment to support her body. Sienna is recommended to have physiotherapy once per week but currently she receives a free session once every 6-7 weeks. At a cost of circa £100 per session  this is an example of financial deficits that I would like to help bridge. Sienna is unable to sit or stand, but with specialist equipment she is able to replicate sitting and standing. Sienna enjoys hydrotherapy sessions - however at present she has limited time in the pool and would benefit physically from more of these.

 

I started running in 2013 when my Dad was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. My close friends had decided to crowdfund for my Dad to give him the chance to spend the money as he wished for his final months. We all went from zero to marathon runners in the space of 5 months, and it was through this that I grew a passion for running. I associated running with challenging myself to help others. When the cold, wet and long miles felt tough I was able to compare my challenge to the scale of the challenge my Dad faced - to know his life was suddenly cut short with an unimaginable fear of what happens next and who and how you are leaving people behind.

 

This experience enabled me to build a mental resilience that I’d never felt before and to this day still never experience unless I’m out running. A resilience that means when your body is physically telling you to stop, all of the memories and inspiration of previous running  floods back and carries you forward.

 

Visiting was restricted for family in the initial days of Sienna being in hospital and I decided to continue as planned with an organised 10km run the day after Siennas birth. Siennas fight through the night inspired and challenged me to my best ever run. It was less than 24 hours since birth but what she had experienced in her first day was tougher than most people experience in their life. I hadn’t met Sienna at this point, but her fight obviously meant everything to the family. 

I have fundraised for various organisations such as hospices and charities that supported my Dad, and also Cardiac Risk in The Young following the sudden death of my best friend aged 25. I’ve always known I wanted to fundraise in support of Sienna, and now she’s aged 5 it’s become clearer what she will need to support her just to give her the minimal basics that many of us take for granted in life. 

I hope that people will sponsor my run, knowing that all money will be going into a pot for a beautiful young girl who would really benefit from having an extra helping hand in life. 

Thank you for reading. 

Grant Mills