Swindon parents undertake ten challenges in memory of their son in honour of his tenth birthday

By Jamie Hill - 31 December 2019

Charity
  • Karl and Charlotte Paul with their son Oscar ten years ago

    Karl and Charlotte Paul with their son Oscar ten years ago

Karl Paul and his wife Charlotte who lost their son Oscar in 2010 when he was born prematurely, are marking his tenth birthday by taking on ten challenges.

  • Karl and Charlotte and their daughters Erin, Libby and Cora, on their wedding day in 2019

    Karl and Charlotte and their daughters Erin, Libby and Cora, on their wedding day in 2019

The Swindon couple, who live in Rodbourne Cheney,  plan to raise £10,000 to donate to the Ronald McDonald House in Bristol which gave them support at the worst time in their lives. They’ve called their fundraising effort ‘Oscar’s 10 for 10’.

 

They plan to take part in throughout the year and their tenth will be to organise a gala in Oscar’s memory in the autumn. Karl is well known in Swindon’s business community as the founder of digital marketing and SEO agency Smarter Media and Charlotte also works in the business. 

 

Karl said: “Charlotte and I are blessed to now have three beautiful daughters however for us, we have four children and we have always made sure Oscar is part of our lives. This year we will honour him in this way and perhaps help parents who are also going through a very difficult time.” 

 

“Losing our son was terrible,” Charlotte said. “He was such a fighter, he had an operation on his bowel at six days old, suffered from a blood infection and he still showed such strength. At 28 days he slipped away and we will never forget him.” 

 

Oscar was born at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon on June 7 2010 at just 25 weeks and two days’ gestation. At the time Karl and Charlotte were in their early 20s. Oscar was so small he was transferred to St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol to be cared for in their specialist neo natal unit. During his life, Karl and Charlotte stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Bristol. This charity relies on donations to help families of critically ill children stay nearby free of charge. 

 

Since that time, the couple have already raised more than £30,000 in Oscar’s memory both for the House and also to buy an incubator for the special care baby unit where Oscar spent his short life. In 2020, they have set themselves a special challenge to mark the year when Oscar would have been ten years old. 

 

During 2020, the couple plan to undertake several feats including: 

 

*Run a half marathon

*Take part in a half Iron Man event 

*Walk for more than 40 miles on the Cotswolds Plod

 

 

Their challenges will end with a gala ball to be held in Swindon in the autumn. Their efforts have already got off to a flying start with a £1,500 donation from the team at I AM Promotions). Anyone who wants to support the Paul family can do so by donating here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/oscars10for10

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