Northamptonshire nurse raises hundreds by running London Landmarks Half Marathon for Rainbows
A Northamptonshire nurse swapped her scrubs for her running gear to raise money for Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
Karen Parsons is a Rainbows clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in Paediatric Palliative Care, for the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS group and Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust.
On Sunday (April 12) she took on the London Landmarks Half Marathon and raised £755 for the charity.
Karen, 52, of Northampton said: “I have always wanted to do the London Landmarks and it didn’t disappoint.
“The weather was perfect and atmosphere was great.
"I was nervous at the start, but once into the run really enjoyed the pace, with loads of music to keep us all running.”
Karen completed the event in two hours nine minutes running around famous sights including Big Ben, London Eye, the Tower of London and The Shard.
Karen has been a Rainbows CNS working in Northamptonshire for three years supporting babies, children and young people wherever they are.
She is part of the ‘face of Rainbows’ in the hospitals and in the community but has a large expert multi-disciplinary team behind her at the hospice and across the NHS Trust.
From diagnosis to end of life, Karen is alongside families on their journey, parallel planning, liaising with other teams and ensuring Rainbows’ services and therapies are offered not only at the hospice, but also in hospital and at home.
She said: “Choosing to raise money for Rainbows was a no brainer for me.
"I am so proud to work for such an amazing charity, knowing that we make such a difference to so many people, including those from Northamptonshire.
“The work we do provides vital support to babies, children and young people and their families, providing expert palliative care advise, and enabling them to make a choice of preferred place of care either in the hospice, home or hospital.
“Thank you to everyone who has helped me complete this bucket list challenge.”
To support Karen in her fundraising, visit Karen’s fundraising page here.
For more information about Rainbows and its work with children and young people, visit their website here.