~ A Massive Thank you ~

Where to start!!.......

Hand and foot castings are now in place at the Horton Maternity Unit in Banbury, not only this, but we have managed to get the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on board.

Both hospitals now bestow bereaved families with hand and foot castings of their precious stillborn babies.  This is more than I ever dreamed.

I want to share with you all how thrilled, happy and excited I am about this news, however, equally I am saddened and heartbroken that this is only a tiny bit of comfort I can offer these families.

So today I have spent the day at the Horton Hospital in Banbury, where four years ago we lost our little Sophie. I had a go myself at casting a doll's foot to see how the process works.  It's amazing, easy and quick to do.  Take a look at the pictures below........

So how have we got here.  I would like to thank all of you who donated to my marathon challenge, this is what it was all about.  

Your donations have made this happen.  You have provided at least 185 families something to cherish forever and this equates to nearly three years completely funded by you. After this time, continuing funding from other donors and SANDs will keep the castings a permanent memory to families from now on.

I have had many, many meetings over the last year with the amazing bereavement team who have facilitated my idea through to its implementation. A huge thank you to Vicky Warr and Kim Paul. Thanks also to Yolanda Jacob who has made sure that all the money you donated was set aside for these castings.  A big thank you to the midwives at both the Horton and JR maternity units who care for the families who have lost their little ones and make sure they offer this gift to them.

So what next, well I am in the process of working with Sarah Vaccari (Communications Manager from the Charitable Trust) to spread the news to others via local and potentially national newspapers.  I would love to see this rolled out to many more hospitals as I strongly feel it is an important service to offer ALL bereaved families.

Sadly, I would have cherished casts like these of Sophie, I forget how small she was and how she felt in my arms.  The castings will never be enough but I do hope that these little tactile keepsakes will be cherished by the families.

I also want to thank a lady I met a couple of years ago, you know who you are, you gave me this idea and now we have both managed to share this with so many more :) xxxx

~ THANK YOU ~