From NICU to the finish line: 70 miles for Reuben

Waiting for a child is usually filled with joy and anticipation but for Nigel Batten and his wife Kiara, events took an unexpected turn. Kiara was rushed into emergency surgery at Princess Anne Hospital to deliver their son, Reuben, at just 27 weeks. Nigel describes the following five hours as some of the longest and most stressful of his life, waiting to know if both Kiara and their baby were ok.

Reuben’s first three months were spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at University Hospital Southampton. Each day, Nigel and Kiara visited, balancing hospital life with Kiara’s recovery. Throughout those months, they were met with exceptional care from every member of staff.

Giving back to the hospital

“I wanted to say thank you in a way that was unique and challenging enough to inspire people to donate,” says Nigel. What began as an idea for a long-distance swim evolved into something bigger – the first ever middle-distance triathlon on The Isle of Wight.

In 2021, Nigel completed the Round the Isle Triathlon alongside his brother-in-law Michael, raising funds for Southampton Hospitals Charity. This year, he returned to the 70 mile triathlon course. Now with a larger team of five. Among them was NICU nurse Lynnette Pickett, who had cared for baby Reuben in those early days.

Despite never attempting a triathlon before, Lynnette embraced months of training, learning to swim in open water, tackling hilly bike routes, and building her endurance for the event, which is double the distance of a standard Olympic triathlon. “She was incredible,” Nigel says. “The same determination she showed caring for Reuben carried her through the course.”