Solihull Family Lace Up Their Running Shoes For Sick Kids

The Hadley-Farnan family from Solihull joined forces to take on Run Alton Towers as a thank you to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for the lifesaving surgery their daughter, Chloe, 14, received there. 

The family, including dad, Terry, mum, Elana, Chloe and her siblings, Leo, 12, Eva, 7 encountered Birmingham Children’s Hospital in 2019, after Chloe started complaining of headaches and double vision. Chloe paid a visit to the opticians and after an examination, the optician seemed concerned and advised the family to go straight to their local hospital. Once they arrived, Chloe was taken for a scan and doctors broke the heart-breaking news that Chloe had a brain tumour.  

Following her diagnosis, Chloe was promptly referred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where she underwent brain surgery to remove the tumour and prevent it from spreading. Chloe’s operation lasted a long 12 hours, which went painfully slow for her parents, but thankfully, at the end, they got the news they were hoping for - the surgery was a success. Four years on and Chloe is back to living a healthy and happy life, for which she and her family are extremely grateful for. 

After Chloe’s treatment, Terry was inspired to take on a challenge to thank the hospital for the care Chloe received. Having had a prior interest in running, taking part in various challenges including Solihull Half Marathon, Man V Mountain and the Arden9, Terry thought Run Alton Towers would be the perfect opportunity to raise some money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.  

What appealed, in particular, was the fact there are several distances to compete in, so Terry thought they could make it the perfect family affair, with Terry, Elana and Chloe taking on the 10K and Leo and Eva running the kids race. 

Leading up to the race, Terry and family prepared by running in their local area, utilising parks to help build up stamina for the challenge ahead. When the race came around, the family were prepared and had a great time thanks to the fantastic atmosphere. 

The family managed to raise £700.00 for the charity’s iMRI Appeal. The charity is raising £1.5 million to fund a life-changing piece of equipment called an intraoperative MRI (iMRI) scanner to the hospital which will transform brain tumour and epilepsy surgery. Something which is remarkably close to home for Terry and his family as this equipment will directly benefit patients like Chloe. 

Terry said: “Still to this day we are in awe of the amazing care that Chloe was provided with. We just had to do something to say thank you and a run seemed like the most natural thing to choose, considering my passion for running. I am so pleased we’ll be able to help bring this vital iMRI scanner to the hospital to help patients like Chloe.” 

Miranda Williams, head of public fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Families like the Hadley-Farnan's are such an inspiration to us. They know first-hand how difficult it is to have a child in hospital, and they want to support others going through the same experience they did.  

“We have £500,000 left to raise for our iMRI Appeal, and the money the family raised will help us take a step closer to reaching our target. We’re so thankful to them.”