Team Ladybugs take on the Leicester 10K

On Sunday 2nd March, the mighty trio Steph, Di and Chloe AKA Team Ladybugs will participate in the first event of the season, the Leicester 10K.

Devoted parents Stephan and Diane adopted Chloe when she was just four years old.

After visiting her for the first time at her foster home, the pair instantly fell in love with the little girl who had cerebral palsy, as she completed their loving family that they’d hoped for, for so long.

Fast forward to 2025 and with their bond growing more with every milestone, the family have overcome some inspirational moments and challenges over the years as Chloe continues to defy the odds. From completing their first Triathlon when Chloe was just aged 8, the family have now conquered so much, with many Triathlon’s and even an abseil under their belt.

2025 didn’t start too well for the trio as Chloe got a nasty bug from day care and was hospitalised for the first few weeks of the year. An extremely unpleasant experience, the hospital was a nightmare as they spent 24 hours in A+E followed by another 24 hours in Resus. It took a turn for the worst as Chloe’s heart rate peaked and they were moved to the Acute ward and side ward where conditions were a little uncomfortable. Steph explained things were considerably uncomfortable, “During this time I was sleeping on plastic upright chairs before finally getting a put you up bed in the side room. Sadly, problems didn’t there as I had to fight to get fed and even care for Chloe with her medicines and personal care, as no one was trained to peg feed. ”

“We were pleased to see improvements as Chloe was better. The last few weeks have been lovely as Chloe is getting sorted and has regular check-ups. We event did a local 10K last Sunday, virtually in the glorious sunshine. Both Chloe and I loved it. ”

“While in hospital with Chloe I came up with the slightly crazy idea of doing a 10K Corridor Walk at the hospital, as I also wanted to get as much awareness about the lack of Chair Beds at the hospital as possible as well as trying to boost funding. The hospital charity team think is an amazing idea and they are 100% behind, we are doing it on the 21st of February 2025, as our racing calendar starts to get busy in March. We then have the awesome Leicester 10K, which we have teamed up with the George Eliot Charity Team and they have at least 40 runners signed up to, so it will be a fantastic day all of us running for our Sleeper Chair Mission.”

A week after the Leicester 10K, Steph and Chloe will participate in the Cambridge Half before potentially completing further 10K Corridor walks in different hospitals up and down the country, as Steph comments “It is not a local issue of the lack Sleeper Chair Beds for family members or carers that need to stay with their loved ones.”

You can read more about their inspirational journey here and donate to the cause below.