Reanna Cotterill, a 25-year-old energy specialist from Nottingham, will be taking part in this year’s Royal Parks Half Marathon, inspired by her daughter Milanna, whose heartbreaking diagnosis means she will ‘not live past childhood’.

Reanna suffered seven miscarriages before giving birth to ‘her little miracle’, Milanna, who started life as a ‘happy and healthy baby’. One day, Milanna was taken to Queen’s Medical Center with what doctors thought was an ear infection, when Reanna noticed that her baby was no longer responding to her voice. At this point, a passing nurse grabbed the baby from her pram, explaining that she was having a seizure.

Having been rushed to intensive care, Milanna’s seizure lasted for two hours and forty minutes, with nurses fighting endlessly to save her life. She was later diagnosed with epilepsy and continued having frequent seizures in the weeks that followed. Just a month later, Milanna was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease (NARS 2).

Following the diagnosis, Reanna learned that her baby would not outlive childhood, and could even die in the next ‘one to two years’. Having already been in six induced comas so far this year, Milanna is also likely to lose her hearing and eyesight shortly as the condition worsens. 

Reanna is now raising money for The Lily Foundation, the UK’s leading Mitochondrial Disease charity and the largest funder of Mitochondrial research in Europe. The charity is on a mission to improve the lives of people affected by the disease, and reached out to Reanna and her partner after Milanna’s diagnosis: “They have given us so much support - without them, we’d be so lost”.

Reflecting on how Milanna’s sudden and unexpected diagnosis affected her life, Reanna says: “Over time, the reality of our baby girl’s diagnosis has really hit home. The never-ending trips to the hospital, the constant bad news - it begins to wear you down. It’s like torture - we shouldn’t be seeing our baby go through this, nor should any parent have to see their child go through something similar”.

Reanna also explains how she wants Milanna to be recognised ‘world-wide’ for ‘her amazing strength and determination to push through this awful disease every day’. In return, Reanna is doing everything she can to make the rest of Milanna’s life as memorable as possible: “My only goal now is to make the next year or so the best of her life. The more time we have with Milanna, the more memories we’re able to make, and for that we are truly grateful.”

“It’s incredibly hard, as we’re already grieving someone that is still with us, but I’ll never let our baby see us with anything other than happy, smiling faces - as long as she’s still fighting, we’ll be fighting right next to her”.

With this year’s Royal Parks Half Marathon taking place just two weeks after World Mitochondrial Disease Week, Reanna is looking forward to taking part in her first ever event: “It’s our turn to feel the strain this time. We want to take on something new and try and overcome another barrier in our lives.”

“Our baby girl has just come out of a nine week hospital admission, so I haven’t had too much time to train, so at this point I’m just hoping to finish the race in one piece”.

When asked what advice she would give someone going through something similar, Reanna said: 

“Please, do not be hard on yourself. This is one of the hardest things any parent can go through, so please do take an opportunity to look after yourself whenever you get a minute.”

“It’s totally normal to feel lost, upset, scared, and angry, but don’t let that get in the way of making as many memories as you can with your baby while they’re still here”.

Reflecting on her thoughts ahead of race-day and beyond, Reanna said:

“Regardless of how race-day goes, all that matters to me is coming home to my baby girl at the end of the day.”

“We’re trying to prolong her life for as long as possible, so she’s soon starting on a private prescription that the NHS won’t provide. Our goal is to be able to financially support any treatment that may help our baby, so we’re going to keep working as hard as we can to keep her with us for as long as possible.”

To donate to Reanna’s cause, please visit her fundraising page below

Donate to Reanna