Kineton dad to cycle 100 miles for Warwick Hospital's Birth and Babies Appeal

Keith James and his wife Jenny had their first child Evelyn in 2016.

Keith said: “She was in so much of a rush to meet us that she was born six weeks premature.

“We were extremely fortunate with the care and attention that Warwick Hospital and the special care baby unit gave us during this time”.

On his JustGiving page he added: “The hospital at the time was overloaded, this became particularly apparent when we was asked by a lead nurse if would consider moving to Nuneaton Hospital to free up space in Warwick as they were full.

“If anyone else was in the same position to us that evening (i.e. unexpected/premature) they would need to go elsewhere.

“We chose to stay, the move would have been too far for us to be able to effectively commute in to be with Evie every day, at the time we also didn’t know if it would be one week or six weeks plus until she could come out.

“So we put ourselves first, with thoughts of empathy towards others.

“Following this decision and feelings it left me with and the excellent care and attention we received, I felt that at some point if I could, I should do something to help repay Warwick Hospital but also try to improve the situation the NHS and our hospitals are under day in day out for others in the future.

“I found out about the proposed new midwifery-led unit at Warwick and their target to raise £200,000 to fund enhancements that NHS funds cannot provide. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to try and do my bit.”

Keith plans to cycle 100 miles across the Cotswolds visiting a combination of eight breweries, pubs and distilleries.

He said: “This challenge combines the two things I enjoy, beer and cycling – although I think will save the beer until the end.”

Keith will be taking on his challenge on August 18 and he is hoping to raise £500 through his Justgiving page.

In addition to the cycling challenge Keith and his wife are putting on a raffle in July, following kind donations of prizes from breweries offering brewery tour tickets and gift packs of beer.

Jenny has also received tickets for Warwick Castle, cinema tickets for Spa Centre and a family pass for Charlecote Park.

If you are a local business and want to support the raffle go to the fundraising page to get in touch.

To go to the fundraising page click here