janine canham’s husband matt sent magnificent and me an email in april 2005. it was an email we had hoped to receive in early june and the headline told us all we needed to know: THE CANHAM BOYS ARE HERE!
they were indeed. born three months too soon, at 28 weeks, sam and his equally as tenacious brother josh were born in hong kong, at queen mary hospital which had housed our own triumverate just one year previously. the boys have since compensated for their 2lb5oz & 2lb 11oz rather humble beginnings – they are bonny…racing around hong kong and their mandarin is coming along so well that they will soon be ordering meals for their parents at local restaurants.
the canham boys are here, and unlike many preemie children, they stayed with their parents on earth. and janine, after emerging from the nicu experience with her own scars, vowed that she was going to do something to help preemies. donating clothes and stuff to the queen mary only took her so far…her vision was greater.
janine hooked up with BLISS, a charity that campaigns for improvements in neonatal care so that more babies survive and have the best quality of life worldwide. BLISS ensures parents are supported as carers by providing a freephone helpline, specialist publications and website. BLISS supports the development of innovations in all aspects of caring for premature and sick newborn babies.
she will be running in the London Marathon in April, to raise money for BLISS. she would love your cheers and sponsorship so that BLISS can help other preemies thrive as josh and sam have done. the canham boys are here and waving at the finish line, proud of the effort their mother has made for preemie babies worldwide. if you visit www.janinecanham.com you will get to her site, where you can make fast, simple and totally secure donations. if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.
this will be janine’s first marathon. she is training hard and aiming to run it (42.2km or 26.2 miles) in 4 hours or under. but for janine the purpose of this marathon isn’t about hours or minutes. it is to give babies’, years.
if you can, please give – or at least post a message to wish her well.
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3 Replies to “”
GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GOGGO GOOGGOO! It even sounds like preemie talk! Well done for getting into the step of things in the London Marathon, it is no small feat (for those little feet) to have an ambassador treading the pavement in their name. Run for their lives!
Wishing you all the very best,
Alice in Hong Kong.
Janine,
Think what you are doing is fantastic & your boys are lucky to have such a dedicated mum!
Best wishes for a great race!
Yeah! Janine – Go run your socks off! You’ll do great! Extra few quid if you make it 3hr30min or under.