Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. On 5th September 2009, my wife, Wendy, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Charlie James Cox. Charlie had been a very active soul throughout the pregnancy. It was planned that he would be delivered by Caesarean section as Wendy had already had two unplanned Caesarean sections for the birth of our two children, Joseph and Harriet. Tragically, it transpired that Charlie had died just a few days before the date on which he was due to be delivered. At the time there was no apparent reason for his death, but during the delivery it became apparent that he had the umbilical cord entangled around his neck and his left leg. In conjunction with all the fun he appeared to be having in the womb the cord became stretched and had tightened up, effectively cutting off his life support.
As both a way of commemorating Charlie, and in acknowledgement of the love and support my family and I have received (and continue to receive) in the wake of this tragedy, from family, friends, and organisations within our local community, I felt I would like to help raise some funds for an organisation that tasks itself specifically with offering support of this kind as its primary objective. That organisation is SANDS (see below).
Being a passionate walker I felt that the most appropriate means of raising funds would be for me to do a sponsored walk. I have enjoyed walking over long distances for some time now, in light of which I am intending to Walk 142 miles from Barnton (Northwich, Cheshire) to the Lochmaben Stone in Gretna (Dumfriesshire). I envisage that this will take me around about 60 hours to complete but I will be allowing myself a little flexibility! This walk will help raise funds for Sands and its valuable work in memory of our son Charlie.
About the Charity I am raising money for: Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, is an organisation that offers support when a baby dies during pregnancy or after birth.
Sands, was founded in 1978 by a small group of bereaved parents devastated by the death of their babies and in particular by what they felt was a complete lack of acknowledgement and understanding of the significance and impact of their loss.
Over the past 25 years the charity has supported many thousands of families whose babies have died, offering emotional support, comfort and practical help. Sands has worked tirelessly with health professionals to revolutionise the care bereaved families receive in hospital. Sands has fundamentally changed the way in which bereaved parents and their babies are cared for
Why Sands is so relevant: Incredibly in the UK today, in spite of medical advances, many parents, their families and friends continue to have their lives quite literally turned upside down by the death of their baby. 17 babies a day are either stillborn or die within the first twenty eight days of life, over 6,500 babies dying every year. Rates of stillbirth have remained relatively unchanged for 20 years and in fact are increasing.
Sands core aims are to:
support anyone affected by the death of a baby;
work with health professionals to improve the quality of care and services provided to bereaved parents and their families;
and promote changes in antenatal practice and to fund research that could help to reduce the loss of babies' lives and the number of families devastated by this tragedy.
With your support we can really make a difference.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Sands gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
So please sponsor me now and thank you for your support!
Andrew
