A Nuneaton mum whose daughter has a rare form of Cerebral Palsy will be taking on this year’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k in aid of our charity.

Kate Wooster, from Odstone, is determined to fundraise with her feet on Sunday 30 April in her daughter Emma’s honour, who has been treated at our hospital since she was four-months-old.

Born a healthy girl, Kate and her husband Ash soon noticed Emma was having problems feeding and after turning to us for help, she was diagnosed with Worster Drought Syndrome – a type of Cerebral Palsy (movement disorder) that affects the muscles around the mouth and throat.

Now three-years-old, brave Emma has had a total of 14 operations to fit and replace her feeding tubes. To help her and her siblings, Harvey, 7, and Amy, 6, come to terms with Emma’s treatment, our nutritional care team donated a bespoke ‘Tubie’ teddy bear, which has its own feeding tube, and even a theatre gown, just like Emma has to wear at the hospital.

Mum-of-three Kate would now like to raise a bear-illiant £350 to help fund even more “treasured” Tubies. She said:

Emma has such a wonderful team supporting her, especially her nutritional care nurses, Gemma and Michelle, who have been our rocks and are a never-ending source of support.

Emma was incredibly lucky to receive her Tubie bear, which is totally treasured and vitally important, and I’d love for other children to have the same privilege too.

Kate, who has lost six stone to enable her to take part in the Great Birmingham 10k, added:

Anyone who knows me will know it’s been a long time since I ran anything, other than a bath! But every day I watch Emma struggle with all of the things she can't do and if she has the courage to go through this journey with a smile on her face, then I can do this 10k for her!

Annie Eytle, Acting Events and Regional Fundraising Manager at our charity, added:

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Kate for deciding to thank our amazing hospital in this unique way and help to fund even more Tubie bears for our brave young patients.

The Great Birmingham 10k is always one of our favourite events, as we witness a sea of our red charity vests take over the streets of Birmingham! On the day, we’ll be cheering on Kate and our other incredible supporters, so make sure you sign up too.

The Great Birmingham Run Series is one of our biggest annual fundraisers and so far, over 400 participants have joined the 10k. To get involved.

To support Kate’s fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kate-wooster.