*Update - August*

We are closing this appeal page in September, when Belle would have arrived so we can donate all the money, kindly donated so far to the Sunbeam suite at Airedale General Hospital.

Your kindness has been overwhelming to both of us, and we can never express our gratitude fully, but the hospital are so grateful and this money will make such a difference to parents, at a time that no one of us would ever wish to have to go through.

Our beautiful baby daughter Belle was born sleeping on Sunday, 26th April at 2:22 pm, this was absolutely devastating news for our family.

Sadly, our journey with the NHS started on the Friday, with Katie attending a routine anomaly scan at a different location, on her own, due to the Covid19 situation.

Being told that baby had no heartbeat was a phone call I will never forget.

From then; in what seemed like no time at all, we were sent to Airedale hospital where despite regulations stipulating that visitors were not allowed, to stop the spread of Covid19, there we both stayed, with no questions asked.

Then we progressed through secondary scans, numerous blood tests, checks and all manner of hugely difficult conversations.

I hope you will never have to sit with your partner and discuss birth plans, tests and subsequent investigations in to what has happened and why it may have happened.

Despite knowing, deep down, we may never get any answers.

All of this is for something that for many of us, is beyond our comprehension.

Despite the troubling times with Covid19; you would have had no idea that patients were being treated for the virus in the same hospital. There was no sign of anxiety or worry from the staff on labour ward and both ourselves, and Belle were treated with dignity, compassion and care throughout from the midwives and healthcare professionals.

In Airedale labour ward; there is a “Sunbeam room”. This is a ‘suite’ comprising of a living room, bedroom, bathroom alongside a small outdoor area too.

To be honest, it’s a place that you’d rather not know existed. It’s tucked away in a corner of the building, well away from anyone else.

For two (and a bit) days, Sunbeam was our home. Everything in the suite has been donated by parents who had also been shown in to this room for the same, tragic reasons that we had.

When we were first shown to this room, it was frightening, with overriding thoughts of “how are we here?” As time progressed, we knew why we were there and we will be forever thankful for the time and space we were given throughout, including spending precious hours with our daughter by our side in her special cot.

We are laying Belle to rest on the 5th May and in her memory, we are hoping that people can donate something, however small for Belle and allow us to raise some money for the Sunbeam room at Airedale hospital.

For the brilliant midwives who treated us with such kindness, dignity and respect throughout our ‘stay’ there to be able to equip the suite with newer equipment, or indeed, whatever they feel they require to make a tragic situation that tiny bit easier.

Especially for the parents who find themselves in new surroundings, in more ways than one.

Forever.

Fly high little one.