A young Dublin couple who tragically lost their first child have been forced to start a fundraiser to cover the costs of her funeral.
Reita Mallak and Glen McDermot and they were overjoyed when Reita fell pregnant in 2020. However, after a perfectly normal nine months of pregnancy, their daughter Mya was sadly stillborn in summer 2021.
The devastated couple were hit with a fresh blow when they discovered how much their daughter's funeral would cost - including €6,000 for a headstone. The pair have found themselves with no option but to launch a GoFundMe campaign as they are struggling to pay off their funeral debts.
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Reita told Dublin Live: "We have payed half the price and there was still €1,035 left to pay off and we only found out about the other half late last year. All this money will be going toward the funeral cost and most of it will be going toward our little girls headstone which has been quoted at €6,400."
Reita's pregnancy was going smoothly up until almost full term when she woke one morning with intense pain. An ambulance was called and she was raced to hospital.
"When they put me on the emergency bed they told me they couldn’t hear any heart beat," she said. "We then felt the world crumbled around us.
"Our heart was broken and we felt like there was nothing else to live for. Our girl was our hope and peace in life then she was gone in a second.
"They told me the placenta had fallen so she couldn’t breath and that was the reason why I felt such bad pain. She was moving all the way to my heart like she was telling me to help her. She was such a perfect baby. After they took her out the doctor told the dad and mother in law that I was going to lose my life too if I didn’t keep calm. My little girl had saved me."
The couple explained that Glen's mother took care of the cost of the funeral at the time but there is still money needed for the cost of the headstone. They had another daughter Layla las year and now more then ever want a resting place for Mya so Layla can visit her big sister.
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