Wesham couple Tony and Sophie Spedding, whose first born baby, daughter Rosie, was born sleeping in March, have donated £3,645 to be shared by Baby Beat and Petals to help the charities support other families, who lose their little ones to stillbirth, miscarriage or shortly after birth.
Tony, an engineer at BAE Systems in Warton, ran five miles a day every day in August to raise the funds while Sophie, an operations manager for a Lytham GP surgery, walked 5 km a day throughout the month.
The couple set up an online donation page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tony-spedding-86, which initially had a £500 target. Tony, a former centre midfielder for Wrea Green FC, said: “We have been absolutely blown away by the support we have received from family, friends and work colleagues. We are so grateful.”
Tony and Sophie, a keen horsewoman, are splitting their donation so that 70% of the funds go to Baby Beat and 30% to Petals. Tony explained: “Baby Beat funded a suite, the Butterfly Suite at the Royal Preston Hospital’s Sharoe Green Maternity Unit, in which Sophie gave birth.
“It had a special cot, a cold cot, that allowed us to spend precious time with our beautiful little girl until we had to say goodbye. Baby Beat provided so much to us both and unfortunately, this charity will be needed by many more parents facing the trauma of bereavement.”
Tony continued: “Petals provided five funded specialist counselling sessions that were delivered with compassion and tailored to us. These sessions have given us both comfort, coping mechanisms and the tools to process our loss. My wife is stronger than superwoman. We are both doing well with the grieving process.”
Lucy Clark, fundraiser for Baby Beat, said: “We are very grateful to Tony and Sophie for their incredible donation. Thank you to everyone who backed them in what were physically tough, personal challenges at a really difficult time. For Tony and Sophie to raise funds for ourselves and Petals so soon after losing Rosie is testament to their strength and selflessness.”
Besides bereavement services, Baby Beat, which is part of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity family, funds specialist equipment, other patient services and comforts, clinical care, local research and training to benefit mums and newborns from the Preston and Chorley area, who use the Royal Preston Hospital’s Sharoe Green Maternity Unit for their maternity care and delivery.