Leeds couple complete incredible charity ride after 'shock' death of two-day-old son from lung condition

An inspiring Leeds couple whose son died after two days from an “unforeseeable and incurable lung condition” have completed a remarkable 1,700-mile charity bike ride to Norway.

Grace and Jon Ince completed the three-week journey from Leeds Children’s Hospital, where they both work, to Oslo yesterday afternoon (Sunday) in memory of their “much loved and longed for baby boy” Zachary.

Over £10,000 has so far been raised for Martin House Hospice, who the couple said were incredible in supporting them through their ordeal.

Zachary was born on February 8 through IVF and it was quickly established that he was suffering from an irregular condition. He was immediately placed on life support and transferred to Martin House Hospice near Wetherby, where the family were given round-the-clock support.

Grace said: “It’s the worst thing that a parent can experience.

“It was so unexpected. We thought that everything was okay through the pregnancy. The condition was not detected. Only once he was born was it evident he had this problem with his lungs.

“It was a big shock.”

She continued: “The road to us having a family had been challenging as well and after years of trying we thought we’d finally got there.

“We had loved him for so long already.”

The couple, who met while working at LGI, had planned to take Zach away on cycling trips when he was older and so they decided to take on the challenge to raise funds for Martin House Hospice in his memory.

Grace, a children’s cardiac nurse specialist, said: “We want to give back because they helped us through truly the worst moments of our lives and we would not have had any time with him if it were not for them.

“It’s a sanctuary and safe space to be. They looked after every single need that we had and when you are in such a state of shock and despair you don’t really know what you need. But they do.

“They took care of everything around us and gave us privacy so we could spend every moment with Zach.”

She added: “If I think of the possibility of growing Zach for nine months and then not having any of that time. We would just be in such a different place.”

The gruelling trip saw them cycle from Leeds to Hull before catching the ferry to Rotterdam and cycling through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden before finishing in the Norwegian capital.

Speaking from Sweden on Friday afternoon as they got ready for the last stretch of their journey, Grace said: “It’s been challenging.

“There’s certainly been times when the riding’s been really pleasant and we’ve seen beautiful parts of different countries but there’s also been really challenging parts. There’s been worse weather conditions and difficult terrain. There was some gruelling tracks in Sweden.

“But it’s something we wanted to do.”

The couple were keen cyclers before they took on the challenge - regularly riding their bikes to work at the LGI from Pool in Wharfedale - and have ridden between 60 to 100 miles each day, all while carrying their belongings.

They were greeted upon arriving in Oslo by friends and enjoyed a well-earned drink after. Grace said: “It was very emotional coming to the finish line, it feels so different to how we expected this year to be that I can’t quite believe what we have done.

“Zach will be with us in everything we do forever now, we love him so much and will carry his memory forwards.”

The ride has so far raised more than their set target of £10,000, which Grace said “really helped us keep going” through some of the tougher legs of the journey.

The couple are now due to travel back to Leeds via trains and ferries and will be greeted at the General Infirmary by staff.

To donate to their challenge visit the GoFundMe page.