One thing I know for certain

I love David with all my heart

And I know that he loves me

We are a team

We do everything together

We are together most of the time

We raise our children together

Make every decision together

Even if it takes months, weeks

To agree

We do

One thing I know for certain

Is how unbelievably lucky I am

My husband is amazing

Inspiring

A tower of strength

With a loving heart

He is a wonderful husband

A fabulous father

He is my soul mate

And I cannot imagine my life without him

One thing I know for certain

Is that without him

I would not be here

This weekend we travelled to Brighton

We returned to Brighton I should say

The last time we were there

Was the day after Matilda Mae’s funeral

It was emotional going back

Seeing how much Esther and William have grown

Knowing that time stood still for Matilda Mae

Forever 9 months old

We stayed in Brighton Marina

Esther and William loved the boardwalk

And watching the boats go by

They also loved the beach

And being close to the sea

We had a lovely Saturday afternoon

Spending time by the water

Meeting up with Granny and Granddad

Planning for the marathon the next day

On Sunday Daddy was away before we awoke

We got up and dressed

Then walked to mile 6

To be ready for Daddy to pass

We were able to track Daddy on an app

So we knew where he was

Granddad had planned all the best points for us to see Daddy

And how to get us all there

Running a marathon is a test of endurance and determination

Watching a marathon, 23 weeks pregnant with 3 year old twins

Was a test of my stamina too

Thank goodness for Granny and Granddad!

We saw Daddy come by at 6 miles

Looking in his stride and smiling

At mile 11

He was still looking fresh and full of smiles

Full of adoration for his children

Making sure they saw him as he ran past

Esther and William loved watching the marathon

I found it really emotional

Supporting David

And all the other runners for The Lullaby Trust

I wanted to know their stories

Who were they running for?

When had they died?

How was life for them now?

How do they remember?

Make sure they never forget?

We rang our special Matilda Mae bells

And shouted Go Go Lullaby Trust!

Esther and William rang their bells with gusto

When they were not busy spotting other runners to support

Through their Tiny Discoverer binoculars

They spotted taps, fairies, Batman, tigers, pirates

And so much more

They had a truly wonderful time

Once Daddy had passed us at mile 11

We raced on to beat him at mile 16

We got there just in time

To see him running by

Still running

Still smiling

Still focused

We were then able to cross the road

And surprise him again

About half a mile later

It was great being able to see Daddy so often on his run

We saw him for the final time at mile 20

Still going strong

He did not give us any indication of the pain he was in

David is a barefoot runner

He wears these special shoes

At mile 13 the skin came away from his heel

His foot was on fire every time it touched the floor

If you look very closely at the photos from 25 miles

You can see his bloody heel

But he carried on running

Determined to finish despite the pain

We did not know any of this

I was tracking him on the app

Seeing him storm the last few miles

Heading for an awe inspiring first marathon time

I had no idea my husband was in such excruciating pain

We left mile 20 heading for the finish line

To catch up with Daddy

To tell him that we loved him

And that we were so so proud

I saw on the app that David had finished the race

We could not get down to the finish line

Or the charity village

From where we were every access was blocked

We had a long walk to Brighton Pier to be able to make our way to Daddy

It was so frustrating

We could see all the runners and all the tents

But could not get to them

By this time Esther and William were exhausted

And so was I with my rather heavy 23 week bump

And then I saw David being supported by two medics

Being taken to the medical tent

I screamed his name

He heard me and he smiled and waved

And called, I am alright

But it was all too much for me

And I sobbed

For David

And for Tilda

I was all full to bursting with love and pride

For my husband

Baby Tilda’s Daddy

I just wanted to be by his side

But Rainbow Baby had other ideas

My bump was hurting

I was breathless and pale

David’s parents rightly insisted that I sit down

I was not going to make it to David

It was 90 minutes later when we were all together again

David in a lot of pain

Having run his first ever marathon

Half of it with no skin on one heel

And managed an amazing time of 3 hours 41

I am so proud of my husband

For keeping going

For refusing to stop

Until it was done

Because that is him

That is how he is

He is strong

And determined

He keeps on going

Until it is done

Despite his own pain

His own suffering

He does what needs to be done

And that is why

Our family is as strong as it is today

Why I know that we will always be together

David has decided it

And so it will be

And that is why I love him

I cannot imagine my life without him

One thing I know for certain

Is that without him

I would not be here

And today I am inspired

And so incredibly proud

Look what love has done!

Look what love has done.

If you would like to sponsor David in memory of Matilda Mae, you still can do so here.

http://www.justgiving.com/mmbrighton

Thank you x