Buckley family lacing up their running shoes to take on the MBNA Chester 10k for Hope House

A Buckley family and their friends are lacing up their running shoes to raise vital funds for a local children’s hospice charity.

On the 10^th March, Nicole and Dan Saunders will be joined by old school friends to take on the MBNA Chester 10k for Hope House Tŷ Gobaith, a cause very close to their hearts.

Nicole and Dan’s son, Oliver was born prematurely at 30 weeks and lives with an extremely rare genetic condition DYRK1A Syndrome and is also blind.

Oliver attends both Tŷ Gobaith in the Conwy Valley for respite stays and Hope House in Oswestry for hydrotherapy sessions in their pool, something the Saunders family are very grateful for.

Nicole said: “Oliver loves it at the hospices and the staff are all getting to know his little ways.

[ Oliver Saunders enjoys his favourite hydrotherapy session with parents, Nicole and Dan with sister, Nancy at Hope House children’s hospice in Oswestry.]

“It really helps us as a family with things like life events and gives us a chance to recharge a little bit.

“We can also do things with our daughter, Nancy that we may logistically not be able to do with Oliver’s wheelchair.

“The hospice stays help us balance things out as a working family.”

Oliver will soon turn five and will be visiting Hope House’s swimming pool with his family to celebrate together doing something he really enjoys and benefits from.

Wanting to give something back to the charity, Nicole mentioned the idea of doing a fundraising run to Dan.

“It turned out that Darren Wilcock, a friend of Dan’s had already signed-up for the Chester 10k to raise money for the hospices and that’s what sparked it.

“There will be a group of eight of us all running together, old school friends and their partners,” said Nicole.

[Oliver enjoys playing with his sensory toys at home]

Nicole and Dan will be joined by Darren Wilcock, Rachel Turner, Robbie Davies, Stef Bradfield, Kate Tilston and Scott Davies.

They will be cheered over the line by both Oliver and Nancy with grandparents and have been getting fitter to boost their efforts.

“I have a walking treadmill in the house and have joined a gym. The boys have done some evening runs outside in preparation.

“I think it’ll be tough, a mixture of running and walking.

“It feels good to give something back and say thank you for everything they’ve done for us and hundreds of other families.”

If you would like to sponsor Nicole and Dan in their efforts then you can do so here Darren Wilcock is fundraising for Hope House & Ty Gobaith (justgiving.com)