On 11th July at 7.35pm,our beautiful, perfect son Caleb George was stillborn at full term. We had gone into hospital fifteen hours before, full of hope and expectations, to then be told there wasn't a heartbeat.
We now know there was a probable concealed placenta abruption, as Ciara didn't have any pains or bleeding. After delivery, there was a massive amount of Caleb's blood cells present in Ciara's. She had to have three litres of anti d treatment to remove his positive cells from her negative blood type. It is thought the membrane wall between the placenta and Ciara's uterus had a small abruption which led to a massive bleed. It is not known how long the bleed had been going on for or what caused it.
In Caleb's memory, we are raising money for Sands, a charity which supports bereaved families. They have supported myself and Ciara by allowing us to meet other parents once a month to share our experiences and receive the response 'we know exactly how you feel'. To hear those words has filled us with hope and given us a focus for the future.
Starting on the 16th of October myself, Caleb's Aunty Marion and my boss Anne will be participating in a 10k run each month for 10 months. We will be doing all our runs in the Derbyshire area with the final run being in London on the weekend of Caleb's 1st birthday.
Please donate all you can to such a valuable cause. Stillbirths happen more than is publicised and there is very little after care for bereaved parents. Sands will spend money raised on supporting families but also research into why babies die before or during labour.
We'll update this page after each run and hopefully will be able to do Caleb proud and let his memory live on.