On the 10^th November 2021, me and my partner, Amy
suffered the heart breaking loss of our daughter, Gracie Colette Mercer at 16 weeks gestation. We had to go through the pain of a termination for medical reasoning, as the amniotic fluid that surrounded Gracie was non-existent as we later found out that Amy’s waters broke early for no reason. The lack of fluid would cause a lot of pain for both Gracie & Amy, and the chances of Gracie developing fully / surviving were extremely low. It was not a choice we wanted to make and it was a choice made out of love. We were cared for at The Snowdrop
Suite, at good hope with the amazing team from Eden Suite at heartlands. We sadly left the hospital without our baby. We walked past other families, leaving the hospital with their babies, yet sadly not all babies come home. 

Whilst at the hospital we spent precious time with Gracie,
creating memories that will last our lifetime. We took photos, held her, gave her cuddles, dressed her and managed to get her hand & footprints. We were happy, yet numb and we both felt very alone. When we were making memories, we were given a memory box from The Lily Mae Foundation which helped us to created
our memories with Gracie. The box we were given included 2 teddy’s, one that stayed with Gracie and one that we kept, A heart in their hand keyring, a story book, memory card for photos, a clay prints set, a voucher for a necklace (that Amy has wore every single day) which has her perfect footprint on and so much more. It’s the only thing we have left of our little girl and we couldn’t imagine the
pain we would of felt if we didn’t have access to such a special box.

A month or so after we lost Graice, Amy referred herself to The Lily Mae Foundation one-to-one support service. She has a session as and when she feels she needs them but the difference it has made has been incredible. It has allowed her to speak with Amy (Lily Mae’s Mummy) and express her feelings without the fear of judgement.

The Lily Mae Foundation offer so much support to so many
people. This includes, one-to-one support, monthly groups, pregnancy after loss support, rainbow baby groups, bereavement days, sibling support, The Still Parents Podcast, Days for Dads and of course the memory boxes to hospitals all over the west midlands for other families, just like us.We are so thankful for everything they have done for us as a family and how grateful we are to have access to something in our time of need and our grieving journey. We regularly donate by taking part in their charity events but really want to give back.

So on 12^th November, 2 days after Gracies 1^st Birthday, I will be running a half marathon at The Alton Towers Run, In Gracies memory and to raise money for this incredible charity. The money raised will enable us to donate memory boxes in Gracies name to hopefully give another family in our situation the closure and to help make the memories that keep their babies memory alive.

Thank you for all of the support. 



Bradley, Amy & Gracie.