Noah’s Ark 24 for 2024 - the Williams family

From a very poorly 5lb 9oz baby boy. To a walking, talking funny little lad, growing just as he should be & we only have the Noah’s ark children’s hospital doctors and nurses to thank for this. 

Our story: 

Matt has a universal blood type, so when I was pregnant with Arthur, my white blood cells saw him as a foreign body and started to attack him.

Arthur was born by emergency c-section two and a half weeks early with extreme jaundice. Left untreated for any longer, this could have led to a condition called kernicterus, a type of brain damage that can result from high levels of bilirubin in a baby's blood. Arthur's blood was four and a half times the normal range. Kernicterus can also cause athetoid cerebral palsy and hearing loss, because of this he was born early. 

A very poorly baby was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit where he received two blood transfusions and life-saving phototherapy to reduce his bilirubin levels to within the normal range. 

Looking at this healthy, active one-year-old today, you’d see no signs of his bumpy start to life.

So we would like to give back! 

Myself and Matt have decided we’re going to take on a crazy year of challenges.

‘Noah’s ark 24 for 2024 - Tiny Lives Appeal’

24 challenges and events to fill 2024.

We want to raise as much money as we possibly can as they are currently looking for £300,000 for incubators and ventilators which played a part in saving our little Arthur’s life. If they didn’t have the equipment and tools, they wouldn’t be able to save babies lives which they do everyday.

Our challenges will consist of the following: 

✅✅ Run 100k in a month - January (both)

✅ 800m swim - February (Sam)

✅ 1 hour swim in endless pool - February (Matt)

✅✅ 2,024 squats in a month - March - (both)

✅✅Walking 150 miles in a month - April (Sam)

✅ 500,000 steps in a month - April (Matt) 

✅✅ 750m open water swim - June (both)

✅ Ironman Swim (3.8km Open Water) - June (Matt) 

✅ Wales Full marathon - June (Matt)

✅✅ Aquathlon (750m swim & 5km run) - July (both)

✅✅ Charity event evening - August 

✅ All or nothing the big R swim - 8k (Matt)

✅ Cardiff half junior - 2.4k - Ollie - October

✅✅ Cardiff Half marathon - October (both)

The full Taff trail walk (50 miles) in a day. (both)

Pen Y Fan (both)

All of this. In just a year!

So, please donate whatever you can. To support us, let us know you’re behind our challenges and more importantly raise money for a charity that is so so close to our hearts.

If Noah’s ark children’s hospital ward hadn’t of been there for us, Arthur may not have been with us today which is something families go through on a daily basis.

So let’s get together, do something fun, challenging and crazy for a great cause!!

We’ll be regularly updating our social media’s when we’re doing our challenges so you can follow us and see how we’re getting on!

Instagram: 

_sam.williams.xx_

mattwilliamsswim