Oliver and Evie are taking part in this year’s Manchester rainbow race in memory of their brother Louis, who would have been 2 1/2 this summer. Evie took her first steps a few weeks ago, so this will be a great challenge for her to walk all the way to the finish line. She is still very wobbly so Oliver has an important job to hold her hand and keep her motivated!

We found out when I was 36 weeks pregnant that Louis had a heart condition with an unclear prognosis. He was delivered the following week and lived for 12 days in NICU. Due to covid restrictions, Oliver never got to meet his brother and Louis’ death has forever left a hole in all of our lives. 

When I became pregnant with Evie, we were quickly referred to the tommy’s rainbow clinic. There are no words to convey how difficult pregnancy after loss is. We knew there was a recurrence risk, that this might not show up again until the third trimester and that it would likely be untreatable. However more than this, we knew exactly what was at stake. We knew what it felt like to first watch our child die and then somehow keep getting up and living each day without them.

We are so thankful to the Manchester rainbow clinic, without which it’s hard to imagine how we would have survived. In addition to scans with fetal medicine and cardiology, from the 3rd trimester we had weekly scans with the wonderful Dr Hamilton, and the endlessly kind and sensitive midwives were always on the end of the phone. When we found out that Evie had stopped growing, Dr Hamilton delivered her herself the following day. Any donations you make will go towards the incredible rainbow clinic and tommys charity to help more families like us.