Emma’s oldest son, Dan, was taken into Bassetlaw Hospital when he was just seven months old with what would later be diagnosed as severe bilateral urinary reflux – a urinary tract infection that is very rare in boys. Dan had to stay on anti-biotics for four years after the diagnosis and go for annual scans to check for signs of infection until he was 14 years old.
Dan is now 25 and a 6’7 gentle giant, as described by his mum, who has played rugby at a high level, and is currently training for his first strong man competition.
Emma is taking part in this challenge to give something back to those who helped both her and Dan through an incredibly tricky time. She spoke about how she had been finding the challenge so far: “The runs are between 2k and 5k every day. On the first day of April, I was full of enthusiasm, thinking yes, I can do this, but over the weekend my speed dropped and I was really disappointed. However, I then had an epiphany moment and thought that timing doesn’t matter, the fact that I am out there running a mile and a half every day for an amazing cause is what counts, and that in itself for someone who is not a runner is an achievement.
“If I think back to the 25-year-old me, sitting by a cot on the Children’s ward, and how I was then, my body then can do things that it can’t do now, however there was no way that I could have run every day of a month. I did not run at all, my exercise was chasing after a toddler!”
Catherine Burke, Senior Sister on Bassetlaw Children’s Ward, passed on her thanks to Emma. She said: “We are extremely thankful for Emma’s fundraising efforts and for remembering the Unit so long after Dan was last with us. The money raised will be put to fantastic use, allowing us to continue to help children, like Dan, who need our help.”
Emma finished off by reflecting on her experience. She said: “I think when you have a poorly child at whatever age, sometimes you can’t see the way out of it. If anyone can read this story, and they are going through tests or anything like that, I hope they could see this as an example of when things can get better. If you look at Dan, he doesn’t look like a child with a kidney problem or who spent a week in hospital.”
If you would like to support Emma with her amazing fundraising efforts, you can donate via her Just Giving page which can be found here – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emma-salt4. If you have any other questions about how you can get involved with supporting Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, you can contact the Fundraising and Communications Team on 01302 644244 or dbth.charity@nhs.net.