Hornchurch mum to enter running events for disabled Essex nephew

Lauren Flower plans to sign up for as many events as she can over the next 18 months to raise funds for treatments for her little nephew, Alexander Liggins.

She’s starting at Hackney Wick in the Victoria Park 5K run, hopefully leading up to the London Marathon in 2027.

“I’ve always been quite sporty but never into running,” the 38-year-old said before her first running venture.

“So taking up a new challenge with the incentive of raising money for Alex seems like a good idea.”

The family is getting help from the Tree of Hope children’s charity with guidance on how to raise money for healthcare that’s not freely available through the NHS.

Friends have rallied with a 35-mile walk, a 100km run and even a ‘mud run’.

They are currently appealing for money for an off-road wheelchair and for therapies to ease Alexander’s dystonia, which restricts what little movement he has.

Alex was born 16 weeks premature when his parents, Alison and Matt Liggins, were on holiday in Mallorca.

Alexander Liggins was born 16 weeks premature (Image: Tree of Hope)

His mum said: “It was a shock when Alex was born so early. We had only arrived in Mallorca six hours earlier."

The family had to be repatriated back to Britain after nine weeks, with Alexander having another six weeks in hospital before going home to Tiptree in Essex.

“He was doing well until he developed infantile spasms at nine months old,” Alison explained.

“This rare form of epilepsy causes severe delays in a child’s development.”

Alex doesn’t have mobility or speech, even at six, and has to be fed. He was having up to 300 spasms a day at one point.

But he is a happy little boy in spite of all this, loving the outdoors, socialising, enjoying school and especially his hydrotherapy in the water.

The Tree of Hope charity helps families raise money for treatment. It provides guidance on fundraising, campaign strategies, financial management and charity registration as well as emotional support.