'Thank you for giving our son a chance at life'

Friday 13th will be forever etched in Matthew and Emma Fellows’ memories – it was the day their second son Kai arrived in the world.

The tot was born more than three months early in December, and is expected to need specialist hospital care at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford until his due date in late March.

But dad Matthew, 34, also has his sights on a date later this year, when he will take on the Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for East Kent Hospitals Charity as a thank you to the hospital teams for their life-saving care.

He said: “I’m not really a runner, but I used to play football years ago until I was injured.

“My best friend ran the Brighton marathon and that inspired me so I started running, and then Emma saw that there were charity spaces for this event and it seemed perfect.

“The teams’ amazing work has given Kai a chance at life so this is a way for us to give something back.”

Emma, 33, had experienced several episodes of bleeding during her pregnancy, and each time had been to hospital to be checked over. Clinicians were not concerned, but recommended she returned if it happened again.

But in December, the couple were on their way to a wedding in London when Emma realised she was bleeding.

Matthew said: “It settled really quickly and because it had happened so many times before we weren’t worried – Emma didn’t want to make a fuss.

“But when we sat down with friends for dinner at the hotel that evening, Emma’s waters broke at the table.

“We called an ambulance and she was rushed into theatre for a caesarean section after the placenta came away and Kai’s heart rate started dropping.

“Emma was able to have a quick hold and kissed his head before he was taken to intensive care.”

Kai, who weighed just 690g, or just over 1.5lbs, spent five days in hospital in London before being transferred to the William Harvey, nearer the couple’s home in Ashford.

Since then both have been spending much of their time at the hospital helping with his feeds and daily care, while Emma’s parents Lesley and Steve, and her sister Laura, help look after their older son Mason, 18 months.

Matthew, who like Emma works in insurance, said: “They have been fantastic and have made it possible for us to be with Kai. We all moved in with them for the first few weeks so that Mason could have his routines as much as possible.

“It has been a real rollercoaster over the past six weeks, as Kai has faced some setbacks, and we have had many sleepless nights.

“But at the moment he is doing well, they are reducing his oxygen and he is breathing perfectly by himself with just a small amount of support, and we are able to wash him, feed him, and have lots of cuddles.

“The team are incredible. I can’t fault any of them; they are so supportive and always keep us informed and explain everything and what it means to us and for Kai.

“You never think you will be in this position, but now we are I have such respect for the work they do and the incredible care they provide.

“We just want to get him home so we can be a family and we still have some way to go but with their help we will get there.”

You can add to Matthew’s sponsorship at https://www.justgiving.com/page/mfellowshalfmarathon