5ft mum set to become smallest person to row the Atlantic solo
A 5ft mum is set to become the smallest person to ever row solo across the Atlantic – dubbed the ‘World’s Toughest Row’.
Milli Abrams, 48, will begin the 3000 mile “World’s Toughest Row” beginning at La Gomera in the Canary Islands, and reaching the finish line at the English Harbour in Antigua.
Milli will become the shortest and lightest person to complete the feat.
She sets off on December 12 and will also celebrate her 50th birthday after almost two months at sea on 31 January 2026, becoming one of just four women in their 50s to finish the row.
She became inspired to take on the challenge after a sailing the Atlantic with her husband and son over ten years ago and fell in love with the open ocean – but she craved more challenge.
“I sailed across the Atlantic with my husband and my son 14 years ago – and I loved being at sea,” Milli, from East Neuk in Fife, Scotland.
“It felt a little bit easy; challenging but very comfortable, and I’d always craved doing a crossing that was a bit more character building.”
Milli, a former accountant turned small business owner, says she was never a particularly sporty person, and had also experienced struggles with long COVID.
But after a friend completed his own row last year, Milli began to believe she was capable of doing the same – and started an intensive training programme.
“It’s not something I ever thought someone like me could do – I always thought it was for more athletic types,” she said.
“I’m a bit older, and I don’t climb mountains or anything like that. I had long COVID, and it was pretty bad. I wasn’t all that healthy, and so I’ve been working on that.
“But my friend suggested that it’s something I could do – and that was that.
“In the beginning, it was a bit of a fight to get accepted into the race – they can only take a certain number of boats for safety.
“There’s a lot to do. I’ve been on a lot of training courses and had to learn how to use new equipment – and at the same time, I’ve been running my business.
“Pretty much immediately, I started on the physical training – just getting stronger.
“Then it was a case of finding the boat.”
Her boat was purchased second-hand from Liz Wardley, who set a new world record last year for the fastest solo woman to complete the race – beating the record by 15 days.
Milli renamed the boat “Knitannia,” in honour of her love of knitting – and in a nod to her business, Tribe Yarns.
“There’s a very limited number of boats in the world that are designed for solo ocean crossings, so that really narrows it down,” she said.
“Where possible, I try to buy second-hand, so I put out feelers to see if anyone that rowed the year before would have a boat available.
“I got lucky, because Liz’s boat has been incredibly well cared and equipped by Liz. I snapped it up!”
While she has taken every precaution to stay safe during the row, Milli will face storms, waves that frequently reach 40-ft, and the threat of marlins and sharks.
“There will be storms – that’s inevitable,” she said.
“There will be big waves – 40 foot waves are not unusual. It will feel really different compared to when my family sailed it – being on those waves on a tiny rowing boat, right at the water’s surface.
“Marlin strikes are a really big deal and have been increasing over the last decade or so. The boats offer shade for other fish, and marlins come along to hunt. It’s led to a lot of accidents, with marlins tearing holes in boats, almost stabbing people.
“There are sharks – but I’m not as worried about the sharks.
“You’ve also got to try and make sure your kit doesn’t fail. I’ll have two water makers on board – one that’s solar powered, and then a backup hand-pump one, which I really don’t want to end up having to use.
“Your kit is a really big deal – if your water maker fails, that’s life-threatening.
“I’ll be sleeping for two hours then rowing for two hours day and night so there’s no opportunity for my muscles or body to recover.
“Injury is always very possible, and you don’t always have time to recover from that.
“I dislocated my knee a few months ago, and ripped some tendons, so I’ve got to be really careful not to risk that knee again while I’m out there.”
She will be fundraising for two charities close to her heart – The 2 Minute Foundation, an environmental charity dedicated to combatting plastic pollution, and Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) who provide care for children with terminal illnesses. She is also on the hunt for sponsors keen to support her on her journey.
“The reason I picked The 2 Minute Foundation was because they’re an environmental charity and they help the planet,” she added.
“I love the way that they make being an environmental activist easy and accessible for everyone. They do two-minute beach cleans, or rubbish picks – and anyone can do it, especially children.
“I also wanted to find a charity that makes contributions to our local community, so when I found out that there aren’t enough hospice placements for children with shortened lives, CHAS was a no-brainer.
“I think it will help to motivate me through the really tough times out there, to think about making a difference.”
Milli believes that she has the mental strength to survive hard times on her own – and hopes she comes out stronger for it.
She hopes that her achievement will bring her a greater understanding of her strength and mental fortitude.
“Part of the reason I wanted to do it was to see what it was like to be that alone for such a long period of time,” she explained.
“I’m hoping to have a bit of time to reflect and slow down a bit. I don’t really slow down – running a small business, is full-on, all the time.
“The aftermath of all of this is a massive unknown for me. I hope I feel happy and ready to jump back into normal life.
“I’m hoping to get a bit more of an understanding of who I am, and how I cope by myself in tough situations.
“And I’d love to help make this feel more doable to people who are like me – because it didn’t feel attainable to me until I met someone who’d done it.”
Milli has been sharing her journey at https://www.justonemorerow.org/. The charities she is supporting can be found at https://2minute.org/ and https://www.chas.org.uk/.
Baby born healthy after spinal surgery inside the womb
A mum was relieved to see her newborn son kick his legs after he had spinal surgery while still inside the womb.
Serena Nye, 24, was told after her 20-week pregnancy scan her unborn son had spina bifida.
It meant his spine and spinal cord was not developing properly, causing a gap in his spine, leaving at high risk of weakness or total paralysis of his legs.
Serena and partner Chris Bown, 26, were given the choice to continue normally, terminate the pregnancy, or have fetal surgery.
So in an incredible operation, doctors took Serena’s womb OUT of her body, at 26 weeks, to operate on her unborn son’s spine via keyhole surgery.
After the three hour operation, her womb – and baby – were stitched up back inside her body again until it was time to give birth.
Tommy Bown was born six weeks later, at 31 weeks – and was able to kick his legs and feed normally as a result of the surgery.
He spent four weeks in hospital before doting parents Serena and Chris brought him home, to Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Thanks to the super advanced surgery, the tot, now three months old, is hitting all his milestones – and a scar on his back from the surgery is the only evidence of his op.
Serena, a customer service team leader, said: “When we found out he had spina bifida, we were in shock.
“We heard all these stories – we thought he would never walk, or eat on his own.
“But I knew I had to have the surgery to give him the best chance, even though it would be intense – I had never had a surgery before in my life.
“A few weeks later I went into labour and had an emergency C-section – and Tommy was born premature.
“I saw him in the incubator, and he was so tiny – but his legs were moving!
“After weeks in the NICU, it was a massive relief to bring him home – with his scar on his back as a crazy reminder of what happened.
“Now, I look down at my baby and I think ‘you have no idea what you’ve been through already’.”
Serena and Chris, a soldier, were referred for a specialist scan because midwives spotted something during their 20-week gender scan.
The following week they drove up to the specialist clinic in London where their little boy was diagnosed with spina bifida.
Because of the way his spine was growing, and a cyst that was developing at the base of his spine, they were warned that it would likely cause him to be severely disabled.
Serena said: “They gave us the options to terminate the pregnancy, to carry on, or have fetoscopic surgery.
“The whole thing was a very numbing experience.”
After discussing with doctors and other parents, they decided to go for the complex surgery to give him the best chance at a normal life.
Serena said: “Leading up to the surgery, I was so nervous – we knew there were risks, but the positives were still higher.
“If we could give him the chance not to need a shunt, or to be able to walk, why wouldn’t we go for it?”
The surgery took place on August 15, 2024, at King’s College Hospital, in Lambeth, and everything went smoothly.
Because of his health conditions, doctors expected the baby to be born a bit early – but hoped to reach 36 weeks.
But at 30 weeks and six days, a check-up revealed Serena’s cervix shortening.
Two days later, she was being rushed to her local hospital, Conquest Hospital Maternity Unit, because she was getting pains and bleeding.
Serena said: “Shortly after arriving, I told the midwife I wanted to push, and she pressed a button then a flood of professionals came in.
“They said the baby was coming, I was in labour, but my waters hadn’t broken yet so I needed surgery.
“I had an emergency caesarean section due to him also being breech, and baby Tommy was born at 6:53am on September 21, weighing 3lbs 15oz.
“We had no idea what he would be capable of when he was born even though he showed good signs during pregnancy.
“We wanted to be prepared for any outcome.
“The first thing my partner said when I came around was that Tommy’s legs were moving – he could move!”
Because Tommy was premature, he was transferred to King’s College Hospital where he spent three and a half weeks in a specialist NICU before being transferred back to Conquest Hospital.
Tommy was finally taken home on October 19, and has been growing stronger and hitting milestones ever since.
The wound on his back from his surgery is now healed – and serves as a reminder of his fight.
Serena said: “I can’t wait to sit him down and tell him what he went through when he’s older.
“The next steps are waiting for him to crawl and seeing how he moves, but we’ll face every challenge with strength and determination.
“If we hadn’t done the surgery while I was pregnant, he would have been born more poorly and would have needed lots of surgeries after birth.
“Now, nobody can believe how well he is doing.”
“I texted ‘hello’ to a random phone number as a joke in 1998 and met my wife”
A cheeky DJ texted a message to a random number as a joke in 1998 and ended up meeting his future wife.
Donovan Shears was given his first mobile phone on his 18th birthday so decided to send out text messages saying “hello” to made up numbers.
He was stunned when he received a message back from a woman called Kirsty who simply said “hi” and they started exchanging text messages.
They eventually arranged to meet for a date in Donovan’s home city of Coventry, and quickly fell for each other.
The couple got married in 2002 and went on to have two children, nine-year-old son Stirling and six-year-old daughter Alora.
Donovan, 45, a former DJ who now works in cyber security, said: “I started sending out random text messages, showing off to my friends saying ‘I can page other phones’.
“I picked the first four digits the same as mine which were 07775, then the last three digits randomly – it was probably about five or six different numbers – and then didn’t think anything of it.
“I just a message saying ‘hello’. I remember one of the messages I sent was to a number ending in 365.”
The number belonged to Kirsty Shears, who was living more than 100 miles away in Cleethorpes, Lincs.
She said: “I’d only just got the mobile so assumed it was from somebody I’d given my number to so just responded to it saying ‘hi who’s this?
“It came back ‘Don’ and we just started chatting from there.
“We would text through the day and then obviously it would become more and more frequent and then at one point we decided we should phone
each other.”
The couple’s blossoming relationship started before camera phones became the norm.
Scots-born Kirsty, who had a Alcatel mobile, recalled how the couple had to describe what they looked like on text.
The quality engineering manager said: “I asked him what he looked like and he said he was 6ft 6ins and I thought ‘is he really?’
“Luckily he really is that tall so I wasn’t being catfished via text.
“I told him I was Scottish, 5ft tall and not slim but not fat and he said ‘that’s my type’.
“The first time we knew what the other looked like was when we met at Coventry train station.”
Donovan added: “When she told me she was living in Cleethorpes I was like ‘where’s that in Coventry?’
“We were texting so much my phone bill was over £250 a month, I think that’s when I decided we should call.
“Feelings started to develop and she’d got the most beautiful Scottish accent, which attracted me to her as well.”
The pair eventually met up about six months after Donovan sent the first text when he invited her to Coventry.
Kirsty added: “I said to my stepsister, I’ve got to go and meet this guy, and she was like, ‘He could be anyone’, and I was like, ‘Yes, I know’, but I was 18 and didn’t really think about consequences.
“I just got on a train and came to Coventry.”
Donovan took Kirsty to a nightclub before buying her a kebab afterwards.
“The rest is history,” he said.
“I remember coming back from our first night out and we just cuddled up, it was kind of magical in a way.
“She is an amazing woman, she’s so intelligent and we know each other so well, she’s my best friend as well as my wife.”
This Valentine’s Day, the couple are joining dozens of others who are renewing their marriage vows at a special service at Coventry Cathedral.
Donovan said: “I took my son for a suit fitting yesterday and he absolutely loved it, then my girl, she’s like, ‘I want to see Mummy get dressed up’, she can’t wait.”
The Codfather: UK’s oldest chippy owner still serving fish suppers aged 91
Britain’s oldest chip shop owner is still serving up fish suppers AGED 91 and says he has no plans to retire.
Sprightly John Panayis has spent more than 60 years in the food industry and still works seven hour shifts, five days a week.
Despite his impressive age, he’s showing no signs of slowing down and continues to fry fish and batter sausages at Nick’s Plaice in Northampton.
John took over the chippy in 2009 when he was aged 75 and handed over the business to his son Nick five years ago.
He had planned to step back but found he missed working so much and was bored at home so he returned to behind the frying counter.
Great-grandad-of-two John has served up around 500,000 portions of chips during his 16 years at the popular takeaway.
And he has vowed to carry on for as long as he can keep going after deciding he “can’t do retirement”.
John admits eating fish and chips twice a week – sometimes even for breakfast – but says his longevity is also down to healthy eating and drinking the ‘right wines’.
Grandfather-of-four John, of Northampton, said: “I found I couldn’t do retirement. How many times can you really mow the lawn and trim the roses?
“I’ve never been one to be stuck inside the house, I only retired for a couple of months before I came back.
“I’ve got to be with people and the work keeps your mind active.
“I like coming here and I like the customers, they support us and I am very grateful for that.
“I hope to continue because I feel fine and I have no plans on retiring.
“I’m healthy, my wife is a great cook and I eat the right foods and drink the right wine.
“I think I’ve been ill once my whole life. I eat fish and chips at least twice a week. I sometimes have them for breakfast.”
John first started working in the hospitality business at 17 when he arrived in the UK from Cyprus and has owned restaurants in Hereford and Northampton.
He started Northampton’s first French restaurant and has also run a coffee shop and a nightclub in the town over the decades.
John, who has four children with wife Andrea, 84, said: “The shop has been in the family since 2009 but I used to run restaurants before.
“We started up with my son being the co-owner but last year I bought back into it.
“I’ve been in the hospitality business since 1950, ever since I came from Cyprus.
“I always worked in various businesses and I’ve never been out of work, I don’t know what that’s like.”
John regularly hauls 20kg bags of potatoes around his shop while doing 30 hours weeks and says age is just a number when it comes to work.
He added: “I certainly don’t know of anyone my age who is working. Most of them are suffering from their legs and backs.
“I know friends of mine in the catering business, when they retired they can’t work now – or they’re dead.
“I’ve always joked with my family if I came back after I died, I’d probably be a fish.
“I am 91, I’ll be 92 in March. I’m a day older than I was yesterday, the 91 or 92 doesn’t matter. Why grow old, I never say ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I can’t do that’.
“I still lift the 20kg bag of potatoes. I can go on until I’m not able to do it, but while I’m able to do it, I’m going to.
“If you retire, you retire from living. Life doesn’t end when you’re 65.”
Son Nick said: “He’s just brilliant. He gives us all inspiration. He has always been a good cook and all the customers love him.”
Pensioner becomes Britain’s oldest ping pong player – aged 92
Britain’s oldest ping pong player is still batting off the competition and beating opponents 30 years his junior – at the age of 92.
Retired tool maker Ivan Pedley plays table tennis twice a week and says he has no plans to retire from the game he loves.
The grandad-of-three first took up the paddle sport as a 14-year-old boy in 1947 and is still going strong 78 years on.
The sprightly pensioner plays around 14 games a week at Great Wyrley Table Tennis Club in Staffordshire often against opponents much younger.
And he says although he may have slowed down in his old age he rarely gets knocked off the table and the trick is ‘all in the technique’.
Ivans says the sport helps him stay fit and healthy and playing into old age is one of the best things he’s ever done.
Ivan, of Walsall, West Mids., said: “I enjoy every minute of it. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know anyone older than 92 playing.
“They don’t knock me off the table either. You might be faster than me – but it’s all in the technique.
“We have a lot of people in their 60’s but I play the younger people too , I try to play everybody at the club.
“I’ll keep going for as long as I can, as long as my health stays. Sitting on your backside is no help to anyone.”
Ivan first found his passion for ping pong as a teenager before hanging up his paddle in his 20s.
But he rediscovered his love of the sport again in his 60s following a chance game with a friend while on holiday.
Ivan then started playing regularly again as a way to keep fit alongside swimming, bowling and Judo, in which he is a brown belt.
He added: “I started when I was in my early days, around 14.
“Then I didn’t play for years until I went on holiday where I met a lad. I played with him and he invited me to join this club.
“I was out of my depth but they were so kind to me. But I soon picked it up again and I think I’ve got better because of the standard I’m playing against.”
He jokingly added: “I do let these lot win sometimes though because I don’t want to dishearten them.”
Ivan now spends every Tuesday and Friday at the club, chalking up nearly three hours each time battling opponents.
He said: “I don’t want to sit here and do nothing, I like to keep myself healthy. I’ve done judo and karate too.
“It helps me to keep fit, I’m 92 and I’m not as mobile as I’d like to be. I keep going. It makes me get up and do it.
“Once you’re committed you have to try and turn up. I’d tell anyone to join a club to start with.
“I’ve done amateur competitions, I’ve got certificates from what I’ve achieved at table tennis, I won some competitions in my late 60s.
“I have on average seven games, sometimes I play more. It’s such a well organised club. They do help me with my game and I appreciate it.
“They are a wonderful crowd of people, second to none.”
Club secretary Tony Reeds, 84, added: “ He’ll always put his heart into it.
“It varies on the people there but they will all have a game with him.
“Anyone we get here he plays, He loves it. He’s part of the furniture now. He’s had some good games at the club now.
“He tells people if you want to keep fit this is the way to do it.”
Woman who lost leg to cancer and given six months to live marries husband
This is the heart-wrenching moment a bride given less than six months to live after losing her leg to cancer made it down the aisle to marry her partner – during one of their two weddings.
Ellie Dickinson, 28, was diagnosed with stage four osteosarcoma in August 2021 after doctors found a grapefruit-sized tumour in her left calf.
She endured major surgery to replace her tibia and nine months of chemotherapy – before her surgeon decided to amputate her leg below the knee on May 7, 2024.
Just one month later, Ellie was told the cancer had spread to her spine and was slowly paralysing her from the waist down.
She was advised to bring her wedding date – originally scheduled for April 2025 – forward as much as she could after being given less than six months to live.
On November 14, 2024, Ellie had the first of two wedding ceremonies – with another one going ahead eight days later.
She said they were the “most gorgeous” days of her life and she wanted to celebrate with her husband, Max, 29, a gas engineer, and whole family.
Ellie, a former police officer, from York, North Yorkshire, said: “It was absolutely gorgeous – and I felt really, really beautiful, despite not being able to walk down the aisle.
“Everything came together perfectly, exactly how I wanted it to.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding.”
On November 14, Ellie and her husband, Max, had their first ceremony in a York registry office.
Just 26 people were invited, Ellie wore a simple, white dress, and they sat down to a three-course meal of chicken wings, roast pork and creme brulee at the York Museum Gardens afterwards.
“Because it was November, everything was set up really Christmassy,” Ellie said.
“We only had 26 of our very, very close family members and friends there.
“To be honest, we arrived in a taxi and kept it very simple – I didn’t feel like there was any point in spending extra money.”
Ellie’s £23k “fairytale” wedding took place on November 22, as she played host to over 100 guests.
She said there “wasn’t a dry eye in the house” as she ‘walked’ down the aisle in her wheelchair, wearing a £2,400 gown covered in sparkles and pearls.
Her six bridesmaids followed behind her, wearing £160 sage green dresses.
“I felt really beautiful – it was a fairytale gown,” Ellie added.
“It was all diamante – sparkle and pearly up at the top and a low bust.
“The day itself was really sunny – my dress caught the light and I felt like I was shining, I was so lucky.”
The bride even alternated between two veils – a shorter, “wheelchair-friendly” veil to walk down the aisle in, and a longer one for photos.
Ellie and Max were ‘married’ again at 12.30pm and photos were taken after the ceremony.
Guests sat down to another three-course meal of bruschetta, chicken, dauphinoise potatoes, and chocolate orange brownies, while a saxophonist played in the background.
After the speeches, the reception kicked off – with a DJ, glow sticks and undercover singing waiters.
Ellie said: “It was such a gorgeous, relaxed day.
“The undercover waiters even told us we were the most interactive wedding party they’d ever done – everyone was on top form!
“Max and I had our first dance to ‘I Wanna be Yours’ – by Arctic Monkeys.
“We had a cannon confetti all throughout it – it looked amazing.”
Ellie’s first wedding ceremony – order of the day:
Taxis to the registry office – and the official marriage ceremony.
Photos taken professionally outside the registry office.
A three-course meal at York Museum Gardens.
Ellie’s second wedding ceremony – order of the day:
Marriage ‘ceremony’ done by a celebrant – plus an Abba singalong.
Downstairs to the foyer for drinks, saxophonist and pictures.
Three-course meal and speeches.
Undercover singing waiters, DJ and party.
First dance and confetti cannons.
“I’m embracing my alopecia – I was diagnosed after my hair fell out in the shower”
A woman who noticed her hair falling out in the shower is embracing her new bald look – after being diagnosed with alopecia.
Wayde Cadogan, 25, started noticing clumps of her blonde locks getting caught in her brush and falling out while she washed her hair in the shower.
In August 2024, Wayde went to the hairdresser and told her how she had been losing her hair and she recommended that Wayde go to her doctor immediately.
Her doctor recommended Wayde book an appointment with a dermatologist and endocrinologist and she was diagnosed with alopecia – a condition that causes hair loss on the body or head – during her first appointment.
Wayde says her diagnosis came as a “shock” and says she started having steroid injections into her scalp and tablets to help her hair grow back.
In December 2024, Wayde stopped having the steroid injections and shaved her head after deciding to embrace alopecia fully.
Wayde, a healthcare worker, from Brisbane, Australia, said: “It was very unexpected and it all happened extremely quickly.
“I didn’t have any warning signs beforehand, no one in my family had alopecia. It was all very new to me.
“It was a very difficult thing for me to manage, not only as a female but as a young female in our society.”
Wayde noticed her first bald patch in August 2024 but had previously experienced hair loss a few months earlier.
Her hairdresser looked at the bald patch and took pictures to show Wayde who said she was “completely shocked” as she didn’t realise how bad it was.
Wayde said: “She was the one who said that she thought something was going on and recommended that I see a doctor as soon as possible.
“My hairdresser said I needed to see someone sooner rather than later, but I thought it would just grow back.
“But I went and saw my general GP, and she said it looked like more than general hair shedding and booked me in to see some specialists.”
In late August 2024, Wayde had been booked in for an appointment with a dermatologist and endocrinologist to make sure it wasn’t a thyroid-related issue.
In her first appointment with the dermatologist, Wayde was told she had alopecia.
Wayde said: “In my first appointment she straight up diagnosed me and said, ‘yep, this is alopecia’.
“Even then, it took me a few weeks to process it.
“It was still a shock for the dermatologist to actually diagnose me with alopecia.”
After her diagnosis, Wayde says she struggled as she was always on social media and she would compare herself to other women she would see online.
“You kind of scroll social media every day and you see those idolised stereotypical images of a woman’s beauty,” she said.
“It is always long, beautifully styled hair and it was really hard to accept that I no longer fit that beauty standard I guess.
“It made me feel so alone and so isolated even though I had such a great support network around me.”
After her initial diagnosis, Wayde went for a blood test to identify any deficiencies that might be related to her alopecia.
She then started having steroid injections into her scalp every six weeks and tablets – topical and oral minoxidil – to help her hair grow back.
Wayde said: “Initially, I guess it’s like anyone that is faced with alopecia, you try absolutely everything to keep your hair as long as you can.
“I worked with my dermatologist with a bunch of different treatment options, which initially included steroid injections into the scalp.
“I know some people have really good success with the steroid injections but I wasn’t one of them unfortunately.
“I have also been trailing topical minoxidil and then that progressed to oral minoxidil.
“But, I think, for me the progression of alopecia for me was so fast nothing was going to stop it.”
In December 2024, Wayde decided to stop the steroid injections and shave her head – fully embracing her baldness – but is continuing to take her tablets.
“I think it was probably one of the hardest moments yet [shaving her head], to be honest,” she said.
“I was at this stage where I still hadn’t quite accepted it.
“You’ve been in a state of denial for so long that the day that I shaved my hair I was still kind of in denial.
“I hadn’t quite accepted what was going on until the hair was completely gone.”
Wayde wears wigs in her day-to-day life when she leaves the house as she doesn’t feel “brave enough” to embrace her bald head fully just yet.
Since her diagnosis, Wayde has been sharing her story on TikTok – @waydecadogan_ – to help other women in the same situation.
She said: “I went down the wig path, which again, was super scary for a young woman to be going in, trialling wigs and buying wigs.
“Not knowing if I should be trying to buy wigs that look like my old hair so people don’t know or trying something knew.
“Sharing my journey has been the most therapeutic thing that I have done for myself.
“Before I started sharing my story, a lot of people still didn’t know.
“So for me, posting that first video was a huge relief that I didn’t have to try and hide it anymore.”
Boy, 3, with cerebral palsy affecting his legs running 500 meters for fundraiser
A three-year-old with cerebral palsy affecting his legs is running 500m of his school playground – to support his parents’ charity run.
Lee and Georgina Fallows’ boy Jacob was born with the condition and has received care from Vranch House and Bow Bears pre-school.
As a way of giving back to both organisations, Jacob’s parents – who are retired navy officers – decided to run 150 km (93 miles) each during January.
But on day ten of the fundraising their son decided that he was going to help out his parents.
And every day the three-year-old from Bow, Devon is running three laps of the playground at Bow Bears Pre-School with the help of his walker.
When he concludes his last lap it will equate a total of 500 meters covered.
Dad Lee, 38, said it: “It makes all of us really proud to be honest.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with Jacob’s cognition and comprehension of the world around him – he is very bright and emotionally aware.
“He is really keen and understands that we are raising money for charity.
“The fact that he wants to get involved as well shows a greater level of understanding from him.
“He has got a walking frame that he can hold on to and he is able to then run around and propel himself to get where he needs to be.”
Jacob was diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy – which affects the mobility in his legs.
He is unable to walk independently without his walker.
But he is “very tactile” – meaning that his hands and arms work fine.
Mum Georgina, 46, said: “He holds our hand whenever he is going anywhere because of his balance and coordination. The brain power that would take him to walk a certain amount of distance is much higher percentage-wise.
“For him to decide that he is going to do laps every day is a really big physical challenge for him.
“His cerebral palsy is essentially brain damage which means his brain doesn’t necessarily talk to his legs.
“Because he is so young and he goes through a number of physiotherapies we are retraining his brain to talk to his legs so that it gets the feedback to being able to stand and walk.
“His brain is having to learn a different way how to balance and how stand. His muscles are really tight.
She added: “Whilst he is young getting him as flexible as he can to allow his muscles to do what he is meant to do and balanced with physiotherapy will be really good in the future for him.
“Any kind of fitness exercise that we do are based around fitness because it encourages him to get on with his exercise.”
Jacob’s sister Olivia, 9, has also decided to take part in the challenge and she will be running 30km by the end of this month.
And his school friends are being supportive of his challenge – and have been recording all his runs to create a final timelapse video.
“The staff and the children are really supportive and encouraging of Jacob’s mobility,” said Lee.
Lee and Georgina have been aiming to run 6km a day and have already raised over £2,400 through their joint efforts.
The money raised for Bow Bears pre-school will go towards equipment for children with additional needs such as an indoor climbing frame and sensory lights.
Vranch House will use the funds to expand on a sensory garden, which the Fallows family raised money for last year through their 6,000 press-up challenge.
The family have set up a JustGiving page to aid their fundraising: www.justgiving.com/page/fallows-family-fundraiser-vh
“My newborn was born on the same day as her sister – they are exactly a year apart”
Meet the siblings who were born on the same day – exactly a year apart.
Little Sophia Searson Smith shot into the world on her sister Sienna’s first birthday.
Mum Ellie Searson Smith, 25, couldn’t believe it when she went into labour on the evening of her eldest daughter’s birthday after hoping to be induced the following week.
But Sophia was determined to come out – arriving weighing 6lbs 13oz with just 22 minutes to spare, at 11.38pm on September, 28 2024.
Ellie, a supermarket warehouse worker, from Halton, Cheshire, said: “She couldn’t wait 22 minutes for the next day.
“I still can’t believe it myself.
“It wasn’t planned.
“Considering Sienna is still a baby she really good with her [Sophia].
“They are going to have the strongest bond.”
Ellie was shocked when she found out she was pregnant in January 2024 – three months welcoming her first daughter Sienna with her partner Liam, 30, who works in a supermarket.
She was given the due date of October 9, 2024 but was advised that the baby would likely come earlier as she suffered with preeclampsia with Sienna.
Ellie had weekly scans to check everything was okay and was scheduled in for a induction on September 30, 2024 as doctors didn’t think she would reach October.
She said: “I didn’t want to have Sophia on her [Sienna’s] birthday.
“I had planned to go in on the 30th for an induction.
“Sienna’s birthday arrived and we had a fun shoot for her and did presents.
“At 8pm I’d sat down and was just about to eat my curry and chips.
“I started getting really bad pains.
“They started getting stronger and I was bleeding a bit.”
Liam rang ahead to Warrington Hospital and the couple arrived at around 10.13pm and Ellie was sent straight to the ward.
Suddenly she was pushing and Sophia was born.
Ellie said: “She was out with in minutes. 11 minutes she was out.”
Sophia had to spend three weeks in hospital as doctors discovered she had a very low blood sugar and she was later diagnosed with congenital hyperinsulinism – where high levels of insulin is produced.
Sophia is currently on medication three times a day to reduce her insulin secretion.
But Ellie said she is a happy baby.
She said: “She looks around. She’s dead smiley.”
Ellie says family and friends presume she planned to have her daughter’s on the same day but she now wouldn’t change it for the world.
She said: “I can’t wait until they get older.
“Life is so much better with them both in it.”
Ellie hasn’t planned their joint birthday party yet but may take them to soft play if Sophia is walking by then.
She said: “It will be expensive when they are growing up – they’ll probably be into different things.
“When they grow up I hope they love it [sharing a birthday].”
Grandfather, 63, hits gym after noticing “moobs” – now has “25-year-old’s body”
A 63-year-old cabbie undertook a six-month intensive training plan to ditch his moobs and “get a 25 year old’s body”.
Perry Wilson, 63, says his age and job meant he got out of shape.
And last summer while peering in the mirror to shave, the grandfather-of-two said he noticed he had developed “moobs”.
He enrolled on a six-month intensive training and diet plan to get back in shape – five 5am gym sessions a week before work.
Six months on, he sports a slimmer, more muscular and toned physique – and his “moobs” are nowhere to be seen.
Perry, a dad-of-two from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, said: “I started to look at my body in the mirror and think ‘hmmm, that shouldn’t be there’.
“I chatted to friends a similar age who said that’s just what happens to your body as you get older.
“But I thought to myself, ‘screw that, I’m not walking around with tits!’
“I asked a friend who is a bodybuilder whether it would be achievable to get the body of a 25 year old in six months.
“He said yes, as long as I followed his exercise and diet plan – and I was determined to do it.
“The 4am starts for the 5am gym sessions were hard – but six months on, the moobs are gone and I have abs.
“My daughters say I have a better body now than their boyfriends’!”
In July last year Perry realised his “more sedentary lifestyle” was doing harm and took action.
With advice from a bodybuilder friend he bulked up on protein to build muscle – eating four portions of chicken and rice plus two 1,100 calorie protein shakes a day.
Then he went on a strict, lean diet – leaving him with a toned and muscular physique.
He said: “Anyone can have a plan, the difficulty is actually doing it.
“You have to be quite determined – setting that 4am alarm and getting up when it’s cold and dark outside is never easy.
“I had to go to bed at 7.30pm to get enough sleep.
“To keep going, I kept my ‘why’ in my mind – getting rid of my moobs, and getting a 25-year-old’s body.
“Over time, I started to see the muscles, especially my stomach muscles and lats.”
Six months in, earlier this month, he deemed the challenge a triumph.
While he only weighs 3kg less than his starting weight of 70.7kg, his fitness has improved, and he has lost fat and replaced it with muscle.
He said: “When you set yourself a challenge and achieve it, it feels so good.
“When you get to your 60’s, it’s easy to conform, but age is just a number, as clichéd as that sounds.
“You don’t have to look and feel old.
“You can have the body you want if you’re prepared to put in the work.”
