Auntie takes on Great North Run to thank charity for support

The Auntie of a little girl who had a lifesaving operation within hours of being born is running the Great North Run to thank The Sick Children’s Trust for supporting her brother.

Lorren Mitchell, 28, from Middlesbrough will be running this year’s Great North Run to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust. The Sick Children’s Trust supports families with free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation when their child is seriously ill in hospital. Lorren’s brother, Joshua Mitchell, was supported at the charity’s Crawford House, located at Newcastle upon Tyne’s the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), when his daughter was born with gastrochisis. Lorren, who has already competed in the Darlington 10k as training, says:

“At just a few hours old, my beautiful niece Anabelle Rose underwent a lifesaving operation at the RVI because her organs were protruding out of a small hole in her abdomen.

“Anabelle was so tiny and vulnerable but was so strong and fierce. She spent nine weeks in the RVI before she was allowed back home to Skelton. Had it not been for The Sick Children's Trust, who gave my brother and Anabelle’s Mum, Becky, a room in Crawford House, they wouldn’t have been able to be at Anabelle’s hospital bedside within five minutes. Instead they would have had to brave the traffic and spend over two hours travelling every day – valuable time that they could spend with Anabelle.

“Crawford House meant that Josh and Becky could get respite from the hospital, and they could relax because they knew if anything happened, they would receive a call, direct from the ward to their room and could be there within minutes. Crawford House is warm, inviting and homely. It truly was a ‘Home from Home’ for my family.

“My family are incredibly grateful to Crawford House and the charity for everything they did. The Sick Children’s Trust was truly there for them, so they could be there for Anabelle."

In addition to the Darlington 10k, Lorren has competed in the Great North 10k, South Shields 10 miler and will be running the Middlesbrough Tees Pride 10k this weekend to raise as much as possible for The Sick Children’s Trust. The Sick Children’s Trust relies entirely on voluntary donations to run its ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the country, supporting over 4,000 families a year. Crawford House Manager, Gail Stonley, says:

“Lorren is going to great lengths to thank us on behalf of her family and we are delighted to have her as a supporter. She has already gone above and beyond her fundraising target and is still going strong. This is brilliant news for us as it costs The Sick Children’s Trust around £30 to support a family for one night in one of our ‘Homes from Home’, so the money Lorren raises will go towards helping many more families stay close to their loved ones.”

Lorren is one of 58 runners who have chosen to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust by taking part in the Great North Run. She continues:

“I'm excited and nervous for the Great North Run, I've never done it before and I'm not a natural runner so it's definitely a challenge, but what better cause to overcome the challenge for?”

If you would like to support Lorren, please visit: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LorrenMitchell