Many of you that know me, will know about my wonderful daughter Elara. And that I sadly lost her in March 2021 after her brave and courageous battle with a rare childhood cancer. Her loss has unequivocally thrown my life into sadness and difficulty. The grief process is extremely tough to handle – and losing Elara is something I will be attempting to deal with with every single day for the rest of my life.

In Autumn 2021, I was invited to attend group counselling sessions, run by experts in child bereavement, at Helen & Douglas House. Whilst apprehensive, I did attend and here I met other families who had also lost their children in that same year. This shifted my grief process enormously. Being able to talk, safely and openly, with other people who were experiencing the same heart ache, trauma and tragic loss, parents that understood the dark, challenging and difficulties day to day was something that helped me in a totally different way. The other parents I met are now my closest friends, we speak daily and meet up regularly.

Helen & Douglas house also support me in my loss by providing with weekly sessions with my child bereavement counsellor, again a resource that has proven extremely beneficial to me personally.

Helen & Douglas house are a children’s hospice based in Oxfordshire (also supporting surrounding counties) who help terminally ill children and their families make the most of their time together. Crucially, they are a charity (registered charity number: 1085951) that rely on donations and fundraising to keep these crucial services going.

Given the huge impact they have had, and continue to have, in my life, I, along with the other mums (affectionately known as the ‘Angel Mums’) would like to give something back to Helen & Douglas house by raising money for them to enable more children and families to benefit from the support and services they provide. For more info: Home - Helen & Douglas House (helenanddouglas.org.uk)

In March 2024 the Angel Mums are taking to the skies to jump out of an aeroplane in order to raise awareness and funds for Helen & Douglas House. If you are at all able to support us in this plight, we would be most grateful.