After months of anticipation, my little niece Lily was born at 1.32am on 25^th September 2015 to proud first-time parents (& big Leicester City FC fans!) Chris and Nicola. Strong, healthy and content, Lily got the green light to head home later that day. A beautiful, relaxed and constantly inquisitive newborn, it was hard not to fall under Lily’s spell, whether you met her in person or just saw her in pictures. Everyone was smitten by the first female in the family in 29 years and excited by what her future would hold. Unfortunately, after 4 perfect days, Chris and Nin awoke to find their daughter wasn’t breathing. Despite their best efforts and the fantastic response of paramedics, Lily passed away on 29th September from SIDS. 

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) aka ‘cot death’ is the sudden death of an apparently healthy baby. Although rare, around 300 babies die from this misunderstood condition every year in the UK. In memory of Lily and all the other sleeping angels, I’ve decided to take on a personal challenge.

The charity I’m fundraising for is Sands – the Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Society. Sands supports research into the causes of stillbirths and neonatal deaths, as well as improving bereavement care for affected families. This organisation is particularly close to my heart, not only due to the tragic loss of Lily. My two brothers, Alex and Matthew, were stillborn as a result of an undiagnosed and preventable syndrome which I myself may have inherited. Sands researches and campaigns for scans that can detect such problems and save parents the heartache of losing their child.

So, what am I going to do? On 19^th March 2016, I’ll be jumping out of a plane over Perranporth beach, Cornwall. This is an amazing (& terrifying) opportunity, and I would appreciate any and all support you can offer. I'll be funding the actual skydive out of my own pocket, so every penny of your donations will go directly to Sands.

If you have been touched by Lily’s story, know anyone who has been affected by stillbirth or neonatal death or just want to donate to a truly worthy cause, please help me reach my fundraising target and do the best we can for the ones no longer with us.

Thank you.

Lauren

and feel free to contact me at LEF211@exeter.ac.uk with any questions