Dad's marathon challenge after son's stillbirth

The father of a baby boy who was stillborn after doctors found he had a rare genetic disorder is taking on a challenge of running seven marathons in seven days for a charity that helped him and his wife.

Jack Taylor, 33, and Ellen, from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, found that their son, Oscar, was not well during a scan at 28 weeks.

Doctors discovered he had Patau's syndrome and had a cyst on his brain, heart abnormalities and an extra digit on one hand.

After his death, the couple were helped by The Lily Mae Foundation, a bereavement support charity, and Mr Taylor said they were "brilliant".

Mr Taylor said his challenge, which starts on Sunday, is "going to be ridiculous” with the final marathon on the day of Oscar's birthday.

The couple said they found out they were expecting their second child in May 2016.

Doctors raised initial concerns over the baby's health during their 12-week scan but eight weeks later, further scans found the boy was healthy and growing well.

"We felt everything was starting to look up although we knew our son may need some testing when he was born," Mr Taylor said.

"[But] Ellen knew he wasn't as active in the womb as our daughter was and she remembers telling her mum that she felt something else was going on."

After another eight weeks, another scan confirmed the couple's fears.

Medics diagnosed their baby boy with Patau's syndrome - a rare genetic disorder which the NHS said was caused by having an additional copy of chromosome 13.

Babies with the condition grow slowly in the womb and have a low birth weight along with a number of other serious medical problems.

"We knew our options and although it was the most horrific choice for us to make, we felt that we had to protect our son from any more pain and suffering," Mr Taylor said.

"We decided to let him go to sleep in mummy's tummy - where he was most comfortable."

After the death, the couple got help from The Lily Mae Foundation, a charity that helps bereaved parents.

Last year, on what would have been Oscar's seventh birthday, his father decided to run seven miles for every day in December but this year wanted to go even further.

His efforts will raise money for the charity which he described as "brilliant and amazing" for what they do.

“I actually don’t remember the days and weeks afterwards, all a bit of a blur, but the charity provided memory boxes and support," he added.

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