From heartbreak to help: a Sydney mum races to save babies’ lives

When Sydney mum Sophie Smith lost all of her triplets, she could not have imagined how her own tragedy would help thousands of other families. Henry, born at 21 weeks, lived “for one precious hour”, and Evan and Jasper, born at 24 weeks, lived 10 days and 58 days respectively.

“Even though our boys were gone, we were still their parents,” she says, “and so, I felt I had a job to do to ensure their lives really mattered.”

Cue some epic footwork: Sophie had been a casual runner, but now she decided to run a half marathon and raise $20,000 for a state-of-the-art humidicrib for the Royal Hospital for Women, to help other people’s babies.

Seven months after the passing of her third triplet, Jasper, Sophie toed the start line of her first race, alongside 98 team-mates, all wearing purple singlets with her sons’ names and tiny handprints on them.

“When the going gets tough on your run, remember you have Henry, Jasper and Evan’s hands on your backs –­ they’ll push you over the finish line,” she told her team.

Channeling her grief gave Sophie a renewed sense of purpose, helping her through the most difficult of times.

“Baby loss is very lonely, because people don’t want to upset the grieving parents by mentioning the baby’s name,” she explains. “Building a volunteer team gave me ‘permission’ to talk about my triplets and share them with others, which helped me heal.”

Sophie’s first race raised $80,000, providing four new humidicribs. “But I knew as I crossed the finish line that this was not the end of Henry, Jasper and Evan’s story,” Sophie says.

“And that’s when Running for Premature Babies was born, an Australian charitable foundation with a vision for a better chance of survival and quality of life for premature babies Australia-wide.”

Six million dollars (and counting) later, Sophie has created a community of helpers putting more than 100 pieces of life-saving equipment in hospitals coast to coast.

Technologically advanced humidicribs, monitors, x-ray machines, and ventilators, which can support tiny lungs to take hundreds of breaths per minute. Even a neonatal ambulance to transfer critically ill babies to hospitals with Neonatal Intensive Care.

Sophie explains that new technology is making a tangible difference in the chance of survival and quality of life for premature babies. “At 24 weeks Jasper and Evan had a 50% chance of survival, but with the new equipment available, such as what we provide, ‘24-weekers’ today have a 75% chance. Better equipment also helps make a real difference to quality of life for children who survive.”

Benji is one of the 8,000 babies who have directly benefited. Born at 25 weeks weighing just 550 grams, Benji had “everything going wrong”, says his mum, Hazel Vinitha.

During his 150 days on the neonatal ward at the Royal Hospital for Women, he was the first to use a new humidicrib provided by Running for Premature Babies. Benji also used a ventilator, monitor and other specialised equipment donated by the charity.

Hazel says that, as well as helping Benji, Sophie provided her with desperately needed help and support. “You have family, you have friends, but they don't know what you are going through,” she says. “I needed someone who knew.”

Doctors couldn’t tell Hazel and her partner, Johnny, if Benji would survive but, today, he’s a thriving three-year-old. As Hazel wrote in a poem about her baby: “A heart a size of a raspberry in a body built so small; he took on every challenge and answered every call.”

Now she takes a bouncing Benji to the antenatal ward to see pregnant women experiencing the worries she also felt. “It gives them a sense that maybe a little Benji is waiting for them on the other side.”

Hazel, who knows how lucky she is and wants to help ensure others also benefit, has brought in $20,000 through the charity’s annual Premmie Marathon Challenge. Each November, anyone can run, walk, cycle, roll or swim, any marathon distance from 21km to 300km, to help raise money.  The charity also hosts a Kids Fun Run each August, in multiple locations around the country. And anyone can run in any race to fundraise for Running for Premature Babies.

While Sophie and her husband Ash went on to have two more boys, Owen, 14, and Harvey, 12, sadly Ash has since passed away from brain cancer.

From those 100 people who ran the first race, 9,000 people have now run to raise money for Sophie’s charity.

“The 26,000 babies born prematurely each year in Australia need our help,” says Sophie, “and there is so much more work to do.”

The Power of help is within us all. Communities are stronger together. Share your moment of help here or to create your moment of help, give premature babies a better chance of survival by Running for Premature Babies.