Hayley Peters, 38, of Buxhall, to run London Marathon for National Deaf Children's Society

A mum-of-three is taking on this year’s London Marathon to raise money for the charity which supported her family through her son’s hearing loss at an early age.

Hayley Peters, 38, of Buxhall, near Stowmarket, will be running the 26.2 miles on Sunday for the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) after her son Buzz spent the first three years of his life unable to hear.

Buzz, now four, was born with blockages in both ears, prompting the family to learn sign language to communicate with him.

His hearing was restored last year and, although he is still catching up with his speech, Buzz will be starting as a pupil at Great Finborough Primary School in September — alongside his brother, Huckleberry, and sister, Rosehip.

“It was really hard for Buzz,” Hayley said. “He had hearing aids and everything but we didn’t know they weren’t making a difference.

“The hardest part was the isolation — having a deaf child can feel incredibly lonely. Buzz had other health issues too, but not being able to communicate with him properly made it feel like we didn’t really know him. It was as if he was living in his own quiet world.

“It’s hard to make a child like that smile or engage with you — even simple things like enjoying music weren’t possible for him.

“That’s why having a charity like NDCS there to guide and support us made such a difference.”

The charity directed Hayley to the Little Stars group in Stowmarket, which supports families with non-verbal children and those with additional needs.

Although Buzz still attends speech therapy, Hayley said he is excited to start primary school soon — something that she said feels ‘unreal’ after everything he has been through.

Sunday’s run will be Hayley’s second time tackling the London Marathon after completing it last year and raising £3,000 for Great Finborough Primary School.

She is also training with England Athletics to become a guide runner which she feels passionately about as a way to help make exercise more accessible for deaf and blind runners.

Hayley has raised more than £2,000 so far and to donate to her cause, follow this link: https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/hayley-peters?syclid=csl9qkpi2e4s739oukdg

She added: “I learned so much about myself during last year’s marathon, and after everything we’ve faced — from hospital visits to learning sign language — I wanted to prove I could do this again, while raising money and awareness for this great charity.

“My husband, Tom, and all our friends and family have been incredibly supportive and I know Buzz will be really proud. He’s such an amazing little boy and he’s doing really well.”