Former marine commando from Roundhay to row across Atlantic alone for Leeds hospital that saved his son's life

Mike Bates and his wife Sara went through the ordeal of not knowing if their youngest son Gabe would survive after he was born prematurely and later contracted meningitis. They almost lost Gabe on numerous occasions and the traumatic period in their lives has inspired Mike to take on the row to raise money for Leeds Hospitals Charity.

Some of the money raised will benefit the paediatric intensive care unit at Leeds Children’s Hospital, which helped Gabe grow into the healthy 11-year-old he is today. Mike told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “He was 11 weeks early and weighed three pounds, he needed to be ventilated straight away. Once we got him home after that five weeks, he then contracted meningitis.

"He went back into that intensive care system again. It seemed like an eternity. We had a 10-month-old at home and a baby in intensive care and that was really difficult. You can't hold your baby, you can' be close to them, and then you're in that process where you're hearing other children not make it on a regular basis and that just fills you with dread. We went home once to freshen up and they called us saying 'you need to come back, he's suffering'.

"We nearly lost him a few times and they brought him back. It's a high-stress, high-emotion environment. You're out of control, all your trust goes over to the doctors and the equipment, which is why I'm doing what I'm doing. There are other families right now going through exactly the same process.”

Gabe had actually been allowed to go home with his parents before his meningitis diagnosis but his mum Sara feared all was not right and returning to the hospital proved to be a life-saving decision.

Mike explained: “He was in for four or five weeks and we got him home and he was sleeping lots. I said to my wife 'this is good, he's catching up' and she said 'I've got an instinct something's not quite right'. He went back and in the doctor said 'if you hadn't have brought him today, he'd be dead tomorrow'.

"It was just dreadful and I'm really thankful that we're the lucky ones and we got both our kids home safe. I felt like I had a debt I wanted to pay off to help other families like ours have a better experience and hopefully bring their children home alive.

Mike served in the Royal Marine Commandos in Afghanistan and Iran, before working as a human intelligence specialist and counter terrorism operations leader. He has since established a Brazilian jiu-jitsu training centre in Leeds. His row begins on December 12 and will start in the Canaries. He hopes to arrive in Antigua, the destination for his row, between 50 and 60 days later in early February 2023.

Mike said: “I am truly grateful to Leeds Children’s Hospital and the care they have provided for my son and all children they look after. I’ll battle with sleep deprivation, salt sores and the physical extremes inflicted by the race.

"Left alone with my own thoughts, the expanse of an ocean and the job of getting the boat safely to the other side, I will be thinking of my family and of course my son Gabe and why I have taken on this challenge.

"I've always said it's a solo row but a team effort. We have bought six neonatal monitoring machines the doctors asked for. We've already delivered what I wanted to deliver from my own personal point of view. Going out on the ocean now, it's a case of 'how many people can we inspire?'.”

Mike has already raised over £160,000, and his challenge has been sponsored by litigation law firm ARMA Litigation. Donations to Leeds Hospitals Charity can be made on his official GoFundMe page.