18 April 2023

It’s been a busy few months of training for twin dad Dave Willis, after he signed up for the RideLondon-Essex 100-mile event to raise funds for Twins Trust.

Dave, father to April and Bonnie, will take part in the annual ride on 28 May. He shared his story about his challenging start to parenthood. Dave said: “On 21 April 2019 after a challenging pregnancy, my wife, Weronika, gave birth to our twins seven weeks premature, at 3lb and 4lb respectively. We were told this was a good weight for twins but it scared the life out of us.” Yet just days later, Dave said their “world fell apart”.
He said: “We were told that a scan had found an anomaly for April. We were advised that it appeared that half her brain was not there and her future would be challenging. I was trying to be strong and was failing.
“I reached out to Twins Trust and received empathetic, compassionate support, enabling me to go back to the hospital the next day and the days that followed.

Weeks passed and the twins were able to go home and after a few months, scans found that April did have a fully developed brain. The parents were told that the standard two-day ultrasound had indicated a possible issue but the MRI scan gave a clear picture and showed all was well.

Dave added: “Anger, frustration, tiredness, confusion, fear, sorrow, hope and eventually joy; these are some of the things Twins Trust helped me with during this time.
“I want to help Twins Trust support other families. It would be amazing if you could sponsor me even a little, to help the amazing work continue.”

Support Dave’s fundraising here.