Tough Mudder for Stillbirth – raising vital funds for the 3000 families impacted every year

Later this month will mark the most unwanted five-year anniversary I have ever experienced.  An anniversary I will not be celebrating.  Rather, I’ll be wishing things were different.  Much different.  You see, it will be five years since my daughter Georgie was stillborn.

Through the haze of my grief and tears, little did I know that the day I met Georgie – my second child and younger sibling to big sister Ava – five other Australian families were in the same God-awful predicament.  Because everyday in this country six babies are stillborn.

Every year approximately 3,000 babies are either stillborn or die shortly after birth.

Despite seemingly endless advances in all fields of medicine over the years, the stillbirth rate has not changed in this country in many, many years.  Life expectancy has increased.  Cancer survival rates have improved.  Much disease has been defeated or eradicated completely.  But stillbirth remains steadfastly resilient.  An immovable object.

For my wife Rebecca and I the loss of Georgie was and is a tragedy we still struggle to deal with, but that struggle would be so much harder without the help of SANDS – Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support.

SANDS is a national not-for-profit organisation that provides support, information and education to bereaved parents, their families and Healthcare Professionals.  They do this by training bereaved parents to act as Volunteer Parent Supporters who then support other bereaved parents.  So more than anyone else, SANDS understands.

But they can’t offer this service without funding.

My obstetric practice, Greenslopes Obstetrics & Gynaecology, at Greenslopes Private Hospital in Brisbane, has put together a team of eight (clearly unbalanced individuals) to compete in this coming weekend’s “Tough Mudder” in South East Queensland.

Our team, called “Greenslopes Obstetrics & Gynaecology – At Your Cervix”, will traverse over 18 kilometres of unforgiving terrain, and navigate unique obstacles that event organisers call “exhilarating” but most sane people would call “terrifying”. 

Things like massive mud pits.  Freezing cold water dunking.  Live electric wires.  Yes, you read that last bit correctly.

We will willingly engage in this madness in the hope that our blood, sweat and tears (of which there are likely to be many!) will encourage others to donate to SANDS.

Our team is:

– Dr Brad Robinson

– Dr Brad Armstrong

– Melissa Harris

– Dr George Kennedy

– Dr Jason Howard

– Dr Gregg Masterson

– Mr Andrew Hale

– Dr Shane George

Please consider donating at:

https://give.everydayhero.com/au/greenslopes-obstetrics-gynaecology-at-your-cervix

 

 

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