The dad of a baby Archie who was cared for at Hope House has been taking on a number of running challenges this year to raise money. 

Dan's 17-month-old son Archie died in March 2023 and since then he has been raising money by taking on lots of events including the Great North Run and Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon in September, Cardiff Half Marathon in October; and has already completed the Chester Half Marathon and Wrexham 10k.

Sponsor Dan

“I’m proud to be raising both money and awareness for Hope House,” said Dan, who is being cheered on by his partner Becky.

“Hope House is a place so dear to our hearts.”

Archie was diagnosed at about six months old with Menkes disease, a condition that affects around one in every 300,000 babies.

Life turned upside down

“We were told there was no cure and that Archie’s life expectancy was about two to three years. It was surreal. Our life turned upside down,” said Dan, a trainee paramedic.

“It was just like bringing a new born home again.

“Very quickly we had to learn everything all over again. We needed to learn how to specially feed Archie, give him all of his medicine accurately, and just generally care for our little boy, and we were guided through all this by the amazing staff at Hope House.

“We were able to stay at the hospice with Archie. He was our baby boy and we didn’t want to leave him. But knowing he was well cared for by the staff at night meant we could sleep properly.

“The rest was incredibly important. With a normal healthy child, you can generally give them to family members and grandparents for a couple of nights, but when your child is poorly and needs medicine regularly and accurately it becomes much trickier. He didn’t need babysitters, he needed nurses 24/7, and that is ultimately what we became.

“But the staff at Hope House made our lives so much easier. We could almost switch off from a few things while we were there. It meant we could spend the time getting to know Archie and everything he needed.”

Hope House here for us

The family had regular stays at Hope House which also allowed them to spend time together and make memories while Archie was receiving care.

When Dan and Becky were told that Archie needed end of life care, they came back to Hope House where they had access to the Snowflake Suite, a place where families can spend time with their children and say goodbye.

“When we knew the time had come, Hope House was here for us,” said Dan. “We were able to just be in these peaceful surroundings and spend time with our boy.”

Since Archie died his family and friends have raised an amazing £4,246, and Dan is always adding to this total by taking on his challenges.

“The training and the races are hard work, but the motivation of knowing that other children and families are getting the same care we did really spurs me on during those tough moments,” he said.

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