A father from Birmingham has shared the emotional reason behind his decision to run the London Marathon this year, after his young son was diagnosed with a rare condition at birth.
Personal Motivation
Connor Reynolds, 30, who was raised in Sutton Coldfield but now lives in Tamworth, is preparing to lace up his running shoes and tackle the London Marathon in just days for his little boy, Reign. Reign was diagnosed with the rare condition Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula and Oesophageal Atresia at birth.
Connor will be running in support of Scope, a charity dedicated to creating an equal future for disabled people. The father of three explained that he wants his son to 'grow up with the same opportunities as everyone else.'
Understanding the Condition
According to the NHS, oesophageal atresia is a rare birth defect that affects a baby's oesophagus, meaning food cannot reach the stomach. Oesophageal atresia often occurs alongside tracheo-oesophageal fistula, which is an abnormal connection between the lower part of the oesophagus and the windpipe. This means a child diagnosed with the condition may not be able to swallow safely, if at all.
Diagnosis and Surgery
Connor recalled the moment doctors knew 'something wasn't right' when Reign was born in April 2021. He said: 'We went to go and feed him and it was like, this is not right. The milk just came straight out of his nose, from his mouth it just came straight out. We called one of the nurses in, they literally had him for one minute and they went, 'We need to take him,' and he got taken down to intensive care.'
Reign was urgently rushed to Birmingham Children's Hospital for a seven-hour surgery. Connor, an Evri Van Network Planner, added: 'He got taken straight there in the night time and on the following morning he had a seven hour operation and they went in and paired all the pipes together so he can essentially eat and drink.'
Life Now
Reflecting on Reign's current life, Connor described his son as one of the 'lucky ones,' as he has not needed another operation related to his windpipe yet. The proud father explained that his son is the 'craziest one' among his children, and the little one 'thinks he's exactly the same as everyone else.'
'I'm very proud. He just gets on with everyone,' Connor said, speaking of how much his son has loved his first year at school. He shared that Reign requires 'extra care' at lunchtime but detailed how the five-year-old 'just gets on with it.'
Marathon Challenge
Now, Connor is preparing to take on one of his biggest challenges yet: conquering the London Marathon. He aims to express how much he wants Reign to be able to grow up with the same opportunities as everyone else by supporting disability charity Scope.
Speaking of the marathon on Sunday, April 26, Connor admitted he was a 'bit nervous,' adding: 'It's been hard to do as much training as I can with all three of them, because my youngest son's four months old. I try and do all the runs that I can but, yeah, it's going to be one of those things where I've just got to turn up on the day and just get it done.'
