I was pregnant with identical twin girls in 2019; my first pregnancy. We were shocked, excited, a little anxious and everything in between. It was a rough start as I was pretty sick, but I powered on through. At a routine scan we discovered they had a series of unlikely complications that meant they were at a high risk of being born with various disabilities. After a lot of painstaking research, further appointments and many tears shed, we decided we couldn’t take that risk for them and decided to terminate the pregnancy; a heartbreaking decision. After 3 days in hospital, they were born on 21st May 2019.

Devastated, I found Sharon and Suzie (the now co-founders of Footprints Baby Loss). They have both lost twins too, and understood the sadness, guilt, fear and everything else I was feeling. They became the friends I so desperately needed, and linked me in with other parents who had been through the same as me- people I still keep in touch with today. They were there for me when I was feeling pretty alone, particularly as TFMR (termination for medical reasons) was, and still can be, something of a taboo.

In 2020 I became pregnant again. At an early scan, I discovered it was twins again and I was pretty scared of the same thing happening.

It was the middle of Covid, and the weeks passed on by. With Covid restrictions in place I was lying alone in a scan room as I was told that this pregnancy too hadn’t work out; I had had a missed miscarriage. A few days later I was sat crying and again alone, waiting for surgery (I couldn’t go through another labour again). My phone pinged- it was Sharon, checking in, letting me know she was there if I needed to talk.

Several years, and many online meetings and group chats with other parents have followed. Sharon and Suzie have created a unique, supportive community that has become a rock for parents like myself.

And so it is for them and those many parents they will come to support that I will be out come rain or shine next month, racking up the miles to try and raise some money to enable them to continue with their work. If you are able to donate to support this cause every little helps and is so appreciated. Thanks for reading :)