Runners for ambulance crew to include “inspirational” mother
A team of ten runners, including a mother who experienced a traumatic birth when she had her daughter, will be flying the flag of the London Ambulance Service at the London Marathon next April.
The money raised by #TeamLAS runners will support the London Ambulance Charity, which hopes to fund additional defibrillators across the capital with its London Heart Starters campaign. It also supports wellbeing initiatives for frontline crews. This includes support vehicles “to help crews cope with the challenges of a 12-hour shift.”
Abie Hepworth from east London is one of the runners. She and her baby Lydia were recently reunited with the paramedics who saved their lives following a difficult birth at her home.
“Last year I had an emergency home birth in which both mine and my baby’s lives were at risk,” she said. “An incredible team of paramedics saved our lives and I will be forever grateful for the work of paramedics and the work they do.”
Speaking at the reunion in June, she added: “On TV and in the movies you always hear the baby cry and I waited but there was no cry. And yet all I remember is how safe I felt with the crews.
“I trusted each and every one of them from the minute they arrived and I never once felt scared.”
The London Marathon is the world’s largest fundraising event. Passing Buckingham Palace, the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament, it sees over 40,000 runners taking part.
“I would like to thank all of our incredible Marathon runners for taking on this challenge,” Jess Burgess, Head of Charity at London Ambulance Service, said. “I hope that Londoners will support their efforts to raise funds for our ambulance crews and call handlers, who dedicate their lives to caring for the people of our capital city during the time of their greatest need.
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