Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On the 30th of April 2024, Scott and I received the devastating news at our 20 week anatomy scan that our son had a severe congenital heart condition, after attending Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth hospital just 2 days later for specialist scans and meeting with consultants we were faced with the worst outcome we could’ve imagined, our precious son was diagnosed with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), half a heart.

On the 9th of May 2024 he arrived into our world sleeping and perfect. We named him Max William Bain, losing him left a gaping hole in our hearts. In the weeks that followed we planned for his funeral and final goodbyes, something no parent should ever have to do. Even though I had an immensely supportive and caring family and husband I struggled with grief and navigating our life after loss. I reached out to our bereavement midwife for support and was told I was unable to receive counselling support until 6 weeks postpartum and then I would be put on a waitlist with no indication of how long it could take. Thankfully I was put into contact with Julie at Baby Loss Retreat who set up a call straight away and put me forward for counselling with one of their dedicated specialists funded by the charity. I attended private counselling with the charity for a few months before I could be seen by the NHS Perinatal Mental health team but in the initial weeks the support of the charity was vital. Charities like this are so vital to the parents and families who face the loss of their children and babies, without the support available people like myself are left drowning in grief feeling unseen.

The Baby Loss Retreat charity was set up by Bryan and Julie Morrison after the loss of their own daughter Erin who was stillborn at 37 weeks, Julie and her husband have created a lifeline for loss parents/families. They offered me both private counselling sessions and to use Erin’s Retreat to help navigate grief. They do incredible work alongside other charities and offer training to people/companies on navigating loss.

On the 14th of September on the anniversary of Max’s due date we will be completing the 2025 Edinburgh Kiltwalk as a team of 21 in honour of Max, with some doing the whole 20 miles and others doing 11miles or 5miles. If you can donate anything towards this amazing charity we would be so grateful.

All my love and thanks

Charley 🩵