April was a busy month on the running calender..  On the 2nd April, Ben Edgell and his partner Hannah took on the Reading Half Marathon, Carla Bartlett and her partner Joe set about completing the Southampton 10k, Giang Hughes completed the London Landmarks Half Marathon, whilst Nina Cherry ran the Bournemouth Bay 10k. On the 23rd April, Claire Sparkes completed her virtual London Marathon. 

For more information on all our brilliant fundraisers, please see below: 

In June 2021, Ben's life was turned upside down when he suffered a traumatic brain injury. Ben was initially treated at The Royal Bournemouth Accident and Emergency Department, before being transferred to the Wessex Neurological Centre in Southampton, where he underwent a left craniotomy with evacuation of an extradural haematoma. Ben is certain the wonderful team at the Neuro Centre saved his life that weekend, and he will be forever grateful to them. He completed the Reading Half Marathon for Smile4Wessex in an impressive 2hrs 29 mins, raising over £700.

Carla was admitted to Southampton General Hospital on the 27th October 2022 with symptoms of a stroke. She spent 8 days as an inpatient on the Neuro Unit undergoing transfusions, scans, lumbar puncture and multiple tests. Thankfully Carla was not suffering a stroke but she is incredibly grateful for the care she received there whilst her condition was investigated. Carla is also extremely thankful to the wonderful staff at the unit for saving her Grandad's life in 2017, when he suffered a traumatic brain injury, as a result of a fall. Carla and Joe are both Paramedics who have previously transported patients to the Wessex Neurological Centre, and fully appreciate, now more than ever, the work of the dedicated teams there. Carla and her partner Joe, completed the Southampton 10k in aid of Smile4Wessex in 1hr 30 mins, raising over £600, as a thank you for the care she received at the Wessex Neurological Centre last year.

Giang and Nina are both part of the team at Simplify Consulting (a wealth consultancy firm based in Cadnam), who chose Smile4Wessex as their charity partner for 2023 and are raising money throughout the year. On 2nd April Giang completed the London Landmarks Half Marathon whilst Nina opted for a stunning seaside setting with the Bournemouth Bay 10k run. This is just a little of what they have planned throughout the year. 

On Sunday 23rd April, Clair finally got to complete her first marathon. Clair had secured herself a ballot place in the 2022 TCS London Marathon and chose to support Smile4Wessex in memory of her sister in law Sue, who suffered a haemorrhagic stroke in April '22. Clair was also running in memory of her wonderful cousin, Alex who tragically passed away from a brain aneurysm in October '21. Both of her loved ones were cared for by the team at the Wessex Neurological Centre. After months of training, Clair was excited to be heading to London, but just a week before the Marathon she was taken ill and was devastated not to be able to take part, and found herself unable to defer her place. But, six months later, and poignantly on the anniversary of Sue's passing, Clair completed her 26.2 mile virtual London Marathon in a very respectable 4hrs 40mins!

A huge thank you to all our fundraisers taking part in these events. If you have an event you would like to take part in for Smile4Wessex, please email; info@smile4wessex.org