As most of you probably already know, we had to say goodbye to our baby son Axel on the 24 March 22 at 23 weeks of the pregnancy. 

Since then we have been on quite the grief journey and have been trying our best to slowly get back to work and our social groups. We were immediately referred to Petal’s charity by our hospital who were able to offer 6 free sessions either as a couple or separately, specialising in baby loss. Unfortunately though, the wait was 6-8 weeks to be able to commence these sessions which feels like a lifetime when you are in a vulnerable place.

Once they commenced, we opted for our own sessions which are both in progress and so far the level of support and care provided by our Petals counsellors have been nothing but amazing as we were both a little sceptical walking into this process (both never having received counselling before). Losing a child is such a lonely process but Petals act as that helping hand, guiding you through the darkness to hopefully a happier chapter in life. They help you to unravel  the complex emotions that surround life after baby loss. 

We would like to raise money for this charity not only as a personal challenge in Memory of Axel but to also be able to give other parents who have suffered the same loss as us the same opportunity to receive these free sessions and to also help the waiting times be reduced for the sessions to commence a bit sooner by providing further staff. 

Every counselling session costs Petals £80 with six sessions costing £480. By raising £4800 we would be able to help either 10 more unfortunate individuals or 20 if they all opted for joint couple sessions. 

Myself, Steven, Axel’s Auntie Alice and his uncle Adam will be hiking up Wales’ highest mountain - Snowdon - on the 9th October 22 to raise as much money as possible to achieve this target. So we would be extremely grateful for any donations however big or small 

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Here is some information about Petal’s and what they do:

“We are Petals, the baby loss counselling charity. The specialist counselling service that we provide is life-changing for parents who have suffered the devastating loss of a pregnancy or death of a baby. We know that these tragic experiences not only result in grief but also in trauma. Our wonderful counsellors are there to help our clients navigate their grief and trauma and to guide them to a place of hope. Supporting this challenge you will be helping us to deliver more vital counselling sessions to bereaved parents when they need us.”

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