On May 12th i will be running the Sunderland half marathon for 4Louis in memory of 14 children  and one father lost too soon including our daughter Nik. I will be running each mile in memory of a different Angel.

Mile 1 T.J and Paul Scully-Sloan
Mile 2 Colby Duggan
Mile 3 Freddie Joseph Derek Holland
Mile 4 Jacob Jae Duffield
Mile 5 Joseph Gardner-Madani
Mile 6 Frankie-Rose Brailsford
Mile 7 Ollie David Matthew Craig
Mile 8 Katie Venter
Mile 9 Bellatrix Denise Usher
Mile 10 Amelia Grace Taylor
Mile 11 Harry & William Brian
Mile12 Erin Gracie Adam
Mile13 Nik Kendall

The names above are real babies who lost there lives before having a chance to live. Leaving behind devastated parents and families this is 13 babies but 17 are born sleeping every single day in the UK (over 6000 a year) so the list above is not even the full amount lost in 1 day every day.

As many of you may know on 7th April 2014 at our routine 20 week scan we received the devastating words no expectant parent should ever have to hear….”I'm really sorry I can’t find your baby’s heartbeat!” The next week was a bit of a blur from the moment of realisation sitting in that horrible little room being told by the doctor that not only had this devastating thing happened, but that we would have to go through the whole birth but for us no healthy crying baby, only pain and tears. Thursday 10th April will stay with us forever as this was the day our tiny angel Nik was born, the support we received from the staff at the RVI was amazing, for going through such an ordeal they made it so much easier, they went through everything and explained that if we liked we could have a special memory box, filled with little momentous with space for anything we wanted to remind us of Nik. Going through the box which contained 2 little teddies, one for Nik to play with in heaven and one to remain with us, a little angel, a candle, a hand and foot print kit and a little card to write a message to our little one. We didn’t feel strong enough to see little Nik straight away but our midwife put her into a tiny Moses basket wrapped in the little blanket we’d made and took some lovely photos to also include in our box. We were told that the memory boxes were hand made by a local charity, 4Louis. When we returned home we decided to look into 4Louis and learned that not only did they provide the memory boxes but also the tiny basket little Nik was put into as well as the camera used to take the photos. We did decide to visit Nik few days later, it was a very hard thing to do but we are so glad we got a chance to say good bye. The cot Nik was in when we went to see her was called a cuddle cot and also provided by 4Louis, it contained a special chilled system meaning we could spend time with her in the chapel of rest.

£30 provides a handmade memory box for grieving parents

£30 provides a specially sized Moses basket to be used in hospitals

£1800 provides a cuddle cot, allowing parents to spend up to 72 hours with their little one

We have had the unfortunate experience of losing our little one and know how much these little things helped us through this horrible time. So the aim of this page is to try and raise enough money to equip more hospitals with these items so other parents can get the same support we’ve had, no one should have to go through all the pain we’ve felt but it’s an very unfortunate fact that in the UK 17 precious babies are born sleeping every day, and if we can do one little thing that will make it a little easier for the parents of these little angels it’ll be worth more than I hope you could ever imagine! Thanks for reading!

4Louis is a charity established in December 2009, following the stillbirth of our own son Louis, to provided tailored memory boxes to various hospital units and hospices across the UK and Ireland. These are provided for families who suffer the trauma of miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal/infant loss, and the death of a child up to the age of 16. We also support midwives and nurses with other vital equipment such as moses baskets, cuddle cots, camera equipment, and support with bereavement suites. 4Louis can also take part in your study days as speakers and can even fund study days if required. All of our services are provided entirely free of charge. www.4louis.co.uk