My Story

Our third child, Hallie, was born in December 2022. When she was late to sit, crawl & cruise compared to our older children, it was always dismissed as her being the “lazy third baby” or “she’s got a brother and sister to get her toys for her!”.

At Hallie’s 12 month check up with her Health Visitor, it was noted that it was concerning that Hallie wasn’t standing and they’d keep an eye on her. Phone calls went back and forth until my wife Kirsty, Hallie’s Mum, noticed Hallie dragging her foot when pushing a walker, when she was 17 months old. This lead to a referral to children’s community physiotherapy, who could hear air bubbles in Hallie’s knee and  referred her for X-rays just to double check.

When our GP called with the X-ray results of a dislocated left hip with shallow acetabulum, and a laterally deviated with shallow acetabulum right hip we were completely shocked and had no idea what to think. 

The paediatric orthopaedic team at Ipswich hospital saw us soon after and this is where we were first told of the charity Steps. Hallie unfortunately did not fall into any of the high risk categories for DDH, she was not breech, she was not our first child and there was no family history. The consultant at Ipswich said we had actually picked it up quite early because it is hard to spot when the hip dysplasia is in both hips.

Ipswich hospital do not operate on children Hallie’s age, so while we waited for her referral at Addenbrooks we used the information on the Steps website to gather information of what we would be dealing with. We could also send this to friends and family to help them understand too.

On May 2nd 2025 Hallie finally had an open reduction, with a salter pelvic osteotomy and femoral osteotomy surgery on her left hip, followed by 6 weeks in a spica cast.

Caring for a child in a spica cast is a daunting and overwhelming time, but all of the care guides and stories from other families on the Steps website meant we were well prepared for what was to come. We also sent the website to Hallie’s nursery and ordered them a parent guide, which helped massively in Hallie’s return to nursery while in her spica cast.

As much we had read every piece of information going about DDH and spica cast care, there were of course many many moments where we felt completely overwhelmed. This is where the community created by Steps has been our saviour. We cannot count the amount of times we have searched the Steps Facebook page looking for advice from other people in the same situation. It’s a massive comfort knowing you are not alone, and the hints and tips from other parents who have been through the same thing is invaluable.

Hallie is now learning to walk again after having her cast off on 16th June 2025, the start of a very long road to recovery. Her consultant has decided to wait 6 months before doing an arthrogram on the right hip before deciding what course of action to take.

So some background on me. Firstly, I have loved the London Marathon for as long as I can remember and have been extremely lucky to have run it once before in 2018 (as well as 2 virtual events in 2020 and 2021). I knew when watching this year’s event on TV that I just had to apply for a place with Steps. I got my application in and was so pleased to have been chosen as one of only 4 places that the charity are awarded each year. 

I actually started my running journey in 2013 as a way to mark my 30th birthday and to achieve a goal I’d had for some time of one day running a half marathon. Which I managed to achieve running the Great North Run in September 2013. In 2014 I joined my local running club Ipswich JAFFA, which to this day, I still count as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I ran my first full marathon at Brighton in April 2015 and have run a further 7 full marathons over the years, as well as many other races of varying distances. 

That’s not to say this will be easy though. Many factors including priorities changing with raising a young family, work commitments and life in general has meant that my running has dropped off hugely over the last 3-4 years. My last road marathon was in October 2021 so will be full a 4 and a half year gap by the time April 2026 comes around.

It is an absolute honour and a privilege to have been chosen to run the 2026 London Marathon for Steps and I am going to work as hard as I possibly can to raise as much funds as possible and raise awareness of hchildhood lower limb conditions. If you can help me in any way to achieve that goal, I would be eternally grateful.

https://www.stepsworldwide.org/

Steps was founded in 1980 by Sue Banton in the United Kingdom. Sue’s son Daniel was born with clubfoot and, at that time, there was limited support and medical options for families affected by the condition. She was determined to change this, not only for herself but for all the families and individuals facing the same challenges. Forty years on, her legacy is still very much alive and is reaching countries all over the world.

Every day thousands of children are affected by a serious lower limb condition. These leg, hip, toe conditions vary in their symptoms, frequency and prognosis. But without the correct diagnosis, treatment and support, it would be impossible for any of these children to walk properly later in life. We have created a model of true local sustainability. We partner with health national systems and communities around the world not only to raise the medical standards, care and emotional support –  but to establish them! The support we provide is elevating the standards of care around the world, giving a change to everybody to walk without pain. As we like to say here at Steps, we don’t take walking for granted.