In January 2013, Louise and James Harris said hello and goodbye to their second child. A beautiful little girl, born sleeping, whom they named Belle.

This year would have been Belle’s tenth birthday and Louise has chosen to run the London Marathon in her honour, whilst fundraising for Oxford Hospitals Charity and creating awareness of genetic disorders.

At 20 weeks Louise went in for her screening scan at her local hospital in Wexham, Slough and it was at that point that everything changed for the couple.

‘My pregnancy up to this point had been pretty straightforward, with a scan at 12 weeks that looked fine. But this time around there were a few red flags that became apparent to the doctors.

‘The following day I had a call from the John Radcliffe Hospital asking me to go straight in to see them. I knew then that something wasn’t right.

‘Once there, we were pointed in the direction of Doctor Cilliers, a consultant in clinical genetics, and a specialist midwife named Kay who looked after us during our stay.

Louise and James didn’t have Belle’s genetic disorder confirmed until after she was born sleeping at 30 weeks gestation.

‘We were fortunate to have the knowledge and kindness of a wonderful geneticist and her team who supported James and me in both our pregnancy and post-birth of Belle, and they will have a huge impact on us forever.

Doctor Cilliers also supported Louise and James through their further two pregnancies, going above and beyond the call of duty.

And it is this compassion and care that has led Louise to run the London Marathon for the Genetics department.

‘My friend asked me to run a marathon with her and I knew if it was going to be any, it would have to be the London Marathon, supporting this charity that is close to my heart.

‘It almost felt that the stars were aligned this year. I saw the marathon advertised in the charity’s Torch Magazine, I applied for the ballot and got in and of course, it would have been Belle’s tenth birthday.

‘I am so proud of where I am today after everything that has gone before. I have been through a time of self-reflection during the past few months and I am lucky to have had the support of James and my three beautiful children Cole, Teddy and Aubrey throughout this marathon journey.

‘Our little girl is the heart of who we are as a family and we will never forget her.’

Jane Bray from Oxford Hospitals Charity said, ‘Louise is an inspirational woman and we wish her the best of luck on Sunday.’