In October 2025 our baby boy Joel was stillborn after I suffered a splenic artery aneurysm rupture caused my a stent that had mistakenly been left inside me. Joel’s life was so unfairly taken and we are so hopeful that we can raise some money for some of the places who helped us through our darkest times.

When we had to make the impossible decisions about funerals, memorials etc… after some discussion we both said how it felt right to have a spot for him at Twywell Hills and Dales as this is somewhere we spend time as a family and we were comforted by the thought of having somewhere so beautiful to be able to visit and think about our baby boy. Nathan and Luke were both so kind and helpful and supported us to plant the first memorial tree in the community area. During meeting with both Nathan and Luke we learned more about the hopes and goals of Hills and Dales being used more and more to support the local community, involve outdoor learning for kids and provide more memorial spaces to people who find peace and comfort there but of course with many community spaces the funding is difficult to come across, so it felt right for us to try and support these upcoming projects.

Matt has found running to be an important part of getting through the last few months and has signed up to Chester Marathon on October 11th, a few days after what would have been Joel’s 1st Birthday. We’re really hoping to use this opportunity to bring some goodness out of something so painful for us and hopefully be able to look at something in the future and know that Joel’s memory is at the core of it.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our story and we would be so grateful for any donations. Susie, Matt, Arthur and Joel xxx