Thankful Parents Made Tracks to Raise £18,300 for Our Hospital

A thankful couple’s marathon challenge helped them reach an incredible £18,300 raised for our charity in just two years, all in gratitude to hospital medics who saved their son’s life.

George Bowman, a leisure centre manager and his partner, swimming instructor Libby Reynolds, who are from Bedworth, laced up their trainers to take on the iconic TCS London Marathon on Sunday 26 April, despite never running a mile in their lives before. They’ve been put through their paces, fitting in a tough training schedule with busy work lives and parenting, but see the challenge as nothing compared to what their son went through early on in life.

Ritchie, now four, was only 11 months old when he became seriously unwell with Group A streptococcal septicaemia and adenovirus. He was blue lighted to his nearest hospital, but the little boy needed more specialist treatment than his local hospital could offer him. He was then urgently blue-lighted via critical care ambulance to our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Ritchie arrived at our hospital in a critical condition. His body had gone into septic shock, his vital organs were beginning to shut down, and he experienced multiple cardiac arrests. His limbs were also beginning to show signs of gangrene.

After heart-breaking days by his bedside, the difficult decision was made that Ritchie’s arm would need to be amputated below the elbow, and a significant amount of skin on his leg removed, for the best chance of saving his life.

Medics delivered a transradial amputation on Ritchie’s left arm and debridement on his left lower-leg, and Ritchie quickly began to show positive signs of recovery. He spent around two months in our hospital, including two-and-a-half weeks on PICU, and a further six weeks on our Burns Ward receiving treatment for his amputation site and skin grafting. He also received a further six weeks’ rehabilitation support after leaving our hospital to aid his recovery journey.

Ritchie is now happy and thriving, celebrating his fourth birthday. Although he still experiences significant, life-changing effects of his condition, the little boy faces his challenges head on with a cheeky smile and ferocity that inspires his parents every single day.

His mum Libby said: “Throughout the fifty-five days our son was an inpatient at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, we were amazed by the care, dedication and love that Ritchie and our whole family was shown by all staff we encountered. There really aren’t the words to express how thankful and grateful we feel.”

It’s the family’s experience at our hospital that inspired them to start fundraising. Their first challenge in 2024 saw them swim one mile a day for 55 days, raising more than £13,000 at the time, thanks to support from family and friends. Additional fundraising events, including a charity quiz, plus their commitment to run the London Marathon, have added £4,700-plus to the pot, taking their fundraising total to over £18,300.

Ritchie’s dad, George added: “Neither Libby or I are runners by nature, and it’s been hard balancing busy day jobs and parenting with getting the miles in. But a marathon is nothing compared to what Ritchie went through in hospital, and this challenge feels like our way of giving back.

“Birmingham Children’s Hospital is what’s made the difference for our family – if it wasn’t for them, we might not have our son here today.”

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “George and Libby have been through the most frightening time in their lives, but it’s incredible to see how they’ve pulled through as a family and shown so much tenacity and passion for making a difference on behalf of our hospital.

“To have raised over £18,300 for our sick kids is truly phenomenal, and we’re so incredibly grateful to George and Libby for all they’ve done for brave patients like Ritchie and their families.”