After "the most horrendous time", a Birtley family has channelled the grief from losing their baby into raising thousands to help others in the same situation through the 4Louis charity.
Melissa Gardner and Sam Lyons-Carr had struggled to conceive for "years", Melissa told ChronicleLive. But in October last year, after saving up for IVF treatment - they had to pay because Melissa has daughter Gabriella from a previous relationship - they were successful. Heartbreakingly though, in April this year, baby Luca died in the womb.
As he developed during pregnancy, medics discovered that Luca had a condition called a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. That's a life-threatening complication which can have a horrific impact on his organs. Despite the diagnosis, the couple were still hopeful that he would be survive - though they knew he was likely to be very poorly as a baby.
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Melissa said: "We had to have so many scans to find out how his lungs were, how he was developing. We had an appointment to see a specialist in London about doing a foetal balloon procedure - but there was no guarantee and we knew it was only a chance. We knew when he was born he would be very poorly."
On April 22, Melissa and Sam were away when Melissa's intuition kicked in. She said: "My partner does motocross and we were away. I just knew I hadn't felt him move for a while. As a mum sometimes you just know something is wrong."
She rushed to the local hospital and then, after midnight, to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. There, doctors confirmed that they could not find Luca's heartbeat.
Melissa added: "I broke down, I was hysterical. Those few days were horrendous, I knew I could still feel him but it was not the same. No-one expects something like that to happen and when it does it's horrible."
Despite the heartbreak, Melissa explained how her family was indebted to "amazing midwives" and the 4Louis charity, which provides resources such as memory boxes and "cuddle cots" which enable parents to spend time with their baby after death.
Melissa added that Bob and Tracey McGurrell, trustees of 4Louis, had even brought a cuddle cot to their home so they could bring Luca home before his funeral. She said: "If it wasn't for them we wouldn't have had that time with our son, we wouldn't have been able to make those memories. It really did help us and we will be forever grateful."
Kirsty Knight founded the charity with friends and family in 2009 following the stillbirth of her son Louis to support families who suffer the trauma of miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal loss. The charity provides memory boxes, cuddle cots, and photography kits, while also supporting midwives and nurses with other vital equipment and by fitting out specialist bereavement suites in maternity units.
Since their own trauma, Melissa, Sam and Gabriella have all - with the help of family and friends - raised more than £4,000 for 4Louis. This will pay for two new cuddle cots in Luca's honour - and while Melissa said each day was still deeply challenging, they had been delighted to be able to support others.
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