‘Without the NICU team I would not have my healthy, happy twins’

A mum has raised double her target after running a hilly half-marathon to thank the hospital teams who saved her children’s lives.

Sue Humm completed the Four Castles Challenge half marathon on Sunday, starting at Deal pier and finishing at Dover Castle.

She hoped to raise £500 for East Kent Hospitals Charity, supporting the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where her twins Scott and Chloe spent the first three months of their lives.

But after completing the 13-mile route, in two hours and 14 minutes, she was delighted to discover donations totalling £1,000.

Sue, 41, said: “I will be forever grateful to the team in the NICU – without their specialist life-saving treatment and care I would not have the healthy, happy twins I have today.

“I am indebted to them all; not just the doctors and the nurses but the whole team, they were all absolutely amazing.

“They helped us so I wanted to help them so they can look after even more families and babies like ours.”

The Maidstone mum works part time in a school for children with special educational needs and fitted in her training around her job and looking after the children, who are now healthy nine year olds.

She said: “You wouldn’t know to look at them now just how poorly they were when they were born.

“Doctors thought Scott might struggle with lung problems but he loves sport and has a go at absolutely everything.”

The twins were born three months early by emergency caesarean section, and immediately needed life-saving treatment including a tube in their throats to help them breathe. Scott weighed two pounds, four ounces, and Chloe just two pounds one and a half ounces.

Sue said: “When you have a baby you expect to hear a cry but it was silent. It was so scary.

“I couldn’t see them for quite some time afterwards because they were so poorly.

“But the team were fantastic and never gave up. There were some very worrying times when they both developed infections but we were able to take them home a week before their due date.

“The half marathon was tough with really strong winds and I had a foot injury so I hadn’t been able to run for a few weeks, but each time I wanted to give up I thought of the NICU teams and how they never did so I just kept going and did it for them.”

You can add to Sue’s sponsorship at https://www.justgiving.com/page/sue-humm-1688305133154