5 years ago we had our first son, Joshua, on the 29th January 2021. It was a straight forward birth and when he arrived he was beautiful, he had big brown eyes and the most perfect eye brows and long eye lashes, he looked just like his Daddy.

Devastatingly we lost him just 1 week later due to an infection called HSV, a common infection in adults but to a newborn baby it’s fatal. It’s very likely that he caught the infection from me during labour, a heart breaking fact I will have to live with forever. Here is Joshua’s story if you want to read more: https://www.teddyswish.org/post/joshua-lachian-simpson-29-1-21-7-2-21

Our world crashed down around us, and it was the support of our bereavement midwife and a charity she had founded called The Forget Me Not Fund that was our lifeline. She helped us navigate those early weeks of darkness, guiding us through the support available to us and offering a support group of other bereaved parents. The charity also supports Sands Basingstoke football team, which has been an incredible outlet for Callum to honour Joshua and be among other bereaved Dads.

For another year we are joining a group of bereaved parents, running the London Landmarks half Marathon (LLHM), in memory of our precious babies, and all those babies gone too soon.

Your support would mean so much to us, the Forget Me Not charity has been so important to us all.

Please add Fund Number 4639 to any donations to ensure your donations go straight to The Forget Me Not Fund, supporting parents through baby loss in late pregnancy or a neonatal death.