Hi and thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

 

Hopefully after reading the following you will understand why i have the will power to run half a marathon!!!!!!! and why I have chosen Sands charity to raise as much money as possible.

 

My story

At 1:25am on the 2nd July 2010 my sister Abigail gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Joel Alfie George Birtles weighing 6lb 2oz. What should have been a happy ocassion quickly turned into the saddest and most devastating moment of my families lives as Joel was born, full term (40 weeks and 3 days) asleep.

Words cannot express the heart ache in which my sister, her husband and their five year old little girl are going through as they are left without their baby boy, with so many questions and a huge feeling of emptiness. Why and how does this happen to people who are so longing for their baby???

The sad thing is this does happen and it happens to 17 babies every day in the UK and effects, traumatises and changes so many peoples lives forever.

My sister was told 2 days earlier after a routine midwife appointment that there was no heartbeat from baby Joel. After a rush to the hospital for an ultra sound scan it was revealed that Joel had died.

If the situation was not bad enough, during induced labour requiring episiotomy and forceps delivery, unknown to medical staff!!, Abigails uterus had ripped open in 3  places resulting in extreme severe internal bleeding.  Abigail ended up spending days in intensive care, which was physically and mentally wounding for herself and the family as we were left without the baby boy we were expecting and with a very poorly mum who struggled to pull through.

I keep hoping its a huge nightmare and we will eventually wake up from it all. I keep thinking 'This doesn't happen now a days and this shouldn't happen to my family' but the sad fact of the matter is........ it has happened, we have been tested in the most horrific way possible, devastation has been left in our lives and each day is a struggle, yet a huge stepping stone as we try to help my sister and her family through the pain. 

The death of my nephew has left a huge hole in my family's lives as well as my own and I will be doing this half marathon for my sister, our family and in memory of baby Joel, our little star in the sky. Our baby we had, but never had and yet will have forever.......we'll forget you never.

 

                             They say there is a reason

                              They say there is a reason,

                              They say that time will heal,

                              But neither time or reason,

                              Will change the way we feel,

                           For no-one knows the heartache,

                              That lies behind our smiles,

                           No one knows how many times,

                           We have broken down and cried,

                             We want to tell you something,

                              So there won't be any doubt,

                             You're so wonderful to think of,

                                  But so hard to be without.

 

I want to help make a difference by raising as much money as possible for those parents and families affected by the loss of their baby and also help research teams who are trying to prevent this from happening in earlier stages.

I would be really grateful if you would sponsor me for this fantastic cause and if you would like to know more about the charity please read below.

thanks

Megan : ) xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

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.

So please sponsor me now and thank you for your support!

Megan xx