A REDDITCH man who lost his baby daughter at just three weeks old has raised thousands of pounds for Acorns Children’s Hospice.
Ed Baker’s second child Heather was born with a congenital heart condition. At the time he lived in Hampshire where there was no local children’s hospice and as a result Ed, his wife Tracy and their baby daughter were unable to get the support they needed.
“We had to travel from hospital to home and back again.” Ed said.
“We were stuck on a hospital children’s ward with no facilities for families.
“When the ward became full we had to take Heather home and administer morphine to her.”
It was a tour of the Worcester hospice which inspired Ed to take up a three-year fund-raising campaign and the latest cheque he has handed over to the charity was for £659, taking the overall total to £9,000.
Ed, who is a technology specialist for Microsoft UK Ltd, has run the Wolverhampton and London marathons, several half-marathons and has taken part in other gruelling activities to raise sponsorship
money.
Mandie Fitzgerald, fund-raising manager at the hospice which covers the three counties, said: “We are very grateful for all donations to help fund the work of the hospice.”
Ed is also the communications officer for the Freemasons and a lot of the fund-raising has been through the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire.
Due to an arthritic hip Ed has retired from distance running but he hopes to regain his fitness and take on the three peaks challenge in 2015.
