A dad has walked 180 miles from London to Manchester in searing heat in memory of a daughter he never knew. Ben Moorhouse did the journey in 55 hours - with no sleep.
His inspiration was his child, Kallipateira, who was stillborn in October 2018, two weeks before she was due. Since then with the help of a specialist centre at St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, he and his partner, Gaynor Thompson, have become proud parents to a son, Apollon.
He made the epic trek to raise funds for Tommy's Stillbirth Research Centre, based at the hospital. For the final 21 miles of the walk he was joined every step of the way by Professor Alexander Heazell from the unit.
So far Ben has received donations of £4,200 but hopes to reach £10,000. "It was an unbelievable journey. It was a lot tougher mentally than I expected. It wasn't so much the weather that got to me but the sleep deprivation," said Ben.
He and Alexander were greeted by staff when they reached St Mary's. "It was a wonderful gesture by Alex to join me at Buxton. He was suffering too near the end but his presence spurred me on. Alex was exhausted but we were there for each other."
As reported in the Manchester Evening News after the desolation of losing their daughter more trauma was to follow for Gaynor and Ben. Gaynor became pregnant again, but at nine weeks had a miscarriage in May 2019. But from these crushing experiences would come "a miracle".
The couple launched their own charity to help save babies lives through research and support other parents who have experienced the death of a baby.
They met Professor Heazell who agreed to manage any future pregnancy which Gaynor had. When she did he put her on a cocktail of drugs to keep the placenta strong as he had discovered that a rare condition with the placenta, had caused Kallipateira's death, which was preventable.
At 35 weeks Gaynor gave birth to Apollon on May 23rd 2020. Now Ben, from Halifax, is determined to raise money for the centre which helped deliver joy after heartbreak in their lives.
Ben said: "During the walk I wore out the tread on two pairs of trainers. The roads were melting with the heat. At one point I was hallucinating - thinking that a road sign was a person. I was ill on the roadside through heat exhaustion - but nothing was going to stop me. I just thought of my daughter when it got tough. It took me 55 hours but if it helps save lives in the future it is worth the pain."
To help save babies lives nationally in the UK Professor Heazell and his team are now the main beneficiary of The Kallipateira Moorhouse Foundation, set up by Gaynor and Ben. In August 2021, Ben along with his support team of Gaynor and Jason Croft successfully walked around the full Greek island of Rhodes – a total of 150 miles nonstop and with no sleep in just 42 hours at the height of summer in extreme heat and humidity.
Ben said: "This latest walk was mentally harder than Rhodes. especially as I went into a second night without sleep. The reception I received when I crossed the finish line was wonderful - as was the cup of tea the hospital staff made me."
Ben can be supported at www.justgiving.com/manchester2022
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