By Joshua Robinson –

Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice shares the story of bereaved mum Talia for the charity’s Christmas Appeal.

Talia is mum to Reggie and Albie. Very sadly, in 2020 Reggie passed away suddenly when he was just 5 months old.

“Fortunately,” says Talia, “Forget Me Not were on hand to support me. Just having them at the end of the phone over the next few months made me feel better. They made my worst nightmare a bit more bearable.”

“They supported me with everything, to be honest with you. When I was pregnant with Albie, my head was all over the place. I felt like I was replacing Reggie. Forget Me Not invited me to a support group for parents who were pregnant who had lost a baby. And they helped me think of my pregnancy as a blessing, that Reggie had sent me his little brother to keep me safe.”

Talia added: “The team there are like family. They do so much for us and they help keep Reggie’s spirit alive. Especially at this time of year. Christmas is so hard anyway, but without Forget Me Not it would be even more difficult. I don’t know where I’d be without them.”

“It’s the hardest thing I’m ever going to have to deal with – waking up every day without Reggie in my life. But Forget Me Not gave me hope. Hope that I could live without him. Hope that I could be a mum again to Albie.”

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“Your donation could give hope to another parent like me. Tragically, more families need Forget Me Not’s help every year. And Christmas is a particularly busy time for the hospice. But £10 would go a long way, it could pay for a family to have a coffee with someone who understands what they’re going through. So that they know they’re not alone.”

Gareth Pierce, CEO at Forget Me Not, said: “Christmas is a particularly difficult time for families facing or living with the loss of their child. We’re here so that no family has to go through that alone. But we can’t do that without your support. With only 10% of the funds we need coming from the NHS or government, even small donations can make a big difference to families like Talia’s.”

Forget Me Not’s Christmas Appeal is getting a boost on Giving Tuesday (28th November) when one of their corporate supporters, the estate agents Hunters, will be matching any donation made on that day (up to £500).

Ashraf Esat, director at Hunters in Dewsbury said: “We know every penny counts, especially at this time of year so we wanted to help people’s donations go that little bit further. Talia’s story shows just how much difference Forget Me Not can make to families who are experiencing such pain and loss. By matching the donations people make on Giving Tuesday, we can double that difference.”

Donations to Forget Me Not’s Christmas Appeal can be made at: https://www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/christmas-appeal

Talia’s story can be found also be seen on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlTOTTWI6qA&t=7s