Six-year-old takes on event in memory of baby sister

Six-year-old Maxwell is taking on the Loughborough Santa Run to raise money for Rainbows in memory of his baby sister.

Along with his dad, Luke, Maxwell Appleyard will lace up his trainers on Sunday for our festive fundraiser.

Maxwell was desperate to raise money for us as we have helped him, and his family, after his sister, Lily, died in 2022 at just under six-weeks-old.

“We are so proud of Maxwell for what he is taking on in memory of Lily, and he is just so excited,” said mum Viki. “When we had Lily, we were living in Cyprus as Luke is in the military. We had to fly home and at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, they told us she had Neonatal Epilepsy.

“It was then we first had contact with Rainbows. We didn’t know the prognosis or outlook for Lily, and we really wanted support for Maxwell. Rainbows could give us that.”

Lily went from hospital to our hospice when she was five-and-a half-weeks-old for end-of-life care. She died 24 hours later and stayed in our bereavement suite.

“We were able to spend that time together as a family,” said Viki. “And that was invaluable. Rainbows made a huge difference to us. As we had to rush back from Cyprus, we didn’t even have somewhere we could call our own.

“Rainbows gave us a home and enabled us to be a family after losing Lily. We were able to make memories, and Maxwell sees Rainbows as a place where he spent time with his sister. Rainbows was the first place that Lily wasn’t hooked up to machines, and the first place Maxwell was able to hug her.”

Maxwell has also benefited from our Sibling Support Service and Music Therapy sessions – both incredibly important in providing support to siblings.

“Currently I am pregnant, and this has been a bit triggering for Maxwell,” said Viki. “Not only does the Sibling Support Specialist help him with his grief for Lily, she also helps with his fears around my pregnancy; he gets a lot of support.

“And when we needed to be with Lily at Rainbows, the Care Team were always there for Maxwell. They would take him to Arts and Crafts or the garden and spend time with him. We also went swimming together in the Hydrotherapy Pool.

“When Lily died, our Family Support Worker was amazing helping us with all the funeral arrangements.

“We have done lots of fundraising for Rainbows as it is a very special place. It is somewhere we felt safe. There was no medical equipment. All of Lily’s life was spent in hospital and she had never been outside. At Rainbows we could do as many normal things as possible.”

Maxwell and Luke will join hundreds taking to the streets of Loughborough for our Santa Run, which starts at 11am. Festive activities will start in the Market Place from 9.30am and Santas, and their four-legged Santa Paws, can choose between a 5km or 2.5km route.

Claire Hoggan, Rainbows Senior Events Officer, said: “We are so pleased to have Maxwell and Luke join us for our annual Santa Run. At Rainbows, we provide end-of-life support and palliative care to hundreds of babies, children and young people. It is only with your fundraising and donations that we can help children like Maxwell, babies like Lily and parents like Viki and Luke.

“We hope Maxwell inspires other people to sign up or come along on the day and join us for a fun, festive event.”

Advanced tickets cost £15 for adults, £8 for under 16s, which includes a Santa t-shirt, and £2.50 for a doggy bandanna. For more information, visit rainbows.co.uk/loughboroughsanta

To sponsor Maxwell, visit is fundraising for Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People