Couple to host 'Esme Day' at Chester House to raise funds for Kettering General Hospital bereavement ward
Video Credit: NNBN
Video Credit: NNBN
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00:00So essentially it's an opportunity for families to come and have fun essentially first and foremost
00:06in the halftime holidays in May. However the Esme part of it, Esme being the girl that we lost in
00:122022, she went to 38 weeks, it's also a fundraiser for Northamptonshire Health's Twinkling Stars
00:19Appeal which will help raise awareness and funds for the bereavement suite at Kettering General
00:24Hospital. It's incredible the support we've had so far again because like I said before people
00:31saying her name, the name that you've given to your child you like to hear it you know where people
00:35call your name and you you envisage calling it yourself you know when you're pregnant with a
00:40baby you might say oh let's practice this name or let's see how this name sounds. It takes a lot and
00:44it's a very personal choice to choose a name for somebody so having people say her name and
00:49recognize her and remember her that's the way that we always knew we were going to grieve and
00:56parent her and let things live on you know we heard about the Northamptonshire Health Charity
01:01Twinkling Stars Appeal which is who Esme Day is going to support when we were still in hospital.
01:07Our amazing midwife over the time we were there had done some crazy things for the charity she jumped
01:13out of planes, she's cycled across India, she's cycled the Great Wall of China so we'd heard about
01:18that while we were there and so we knew that it was a budding appeal but again it seems to be one
01:24that you only hear about once you are in that community. And it was a great little space but
01:29it's on delivery ward and in terms of when people are in that moment of baby loss it's difficult to
01:37kind of comprehend being in that space so the fact that this bereavement suite will be completely
01:42separate and new and bespoke to these families for them to grieve in their own time and have access to
01:47bereavement with wise all that as well because they'll be in the same place is it's just perfect
01:52so this is essentially what any sort of fundraising or awareness that will that is basically wrapping
01:58around as part of the day all wrapped up in a nice family event fun entertainment at Chester House.
02:03So moving forward this is where our heart is and what we need to do and to see other people get on
02:08board with that for us because whether it's through Ayling they can see how it's affected her
02:13or how it's affected us as parents or our parents as grandparents having lost their grandchild and
02:20and their friends and family have been really supportive in it as well and their work so it's
02:24just again that recognition of her that we are parents to her that she is part of our life that
02:30she is part of of who we are she's changed us as people she's changed our relationships she's changed
02:36our family completely um so it's the recognition of that but it's also then how important it is
02:43although the experience for us was as as good as it could have been in those days in hospital we had
02:49loads of support we had um a really calm space to be in we were able to be with her for as long as we
02:55needed to be all those things were incredible but it's still not the ideal there's still a long way to
03:00go and the fact that other people who haven't even been through this experience can see that and
03:05recognize that and say you know it's unimaginable or i can't can't imagine what it's like and
03:10and it's really difficult because you can't imagine what it's like you cannot put yourself in somebody
03:14else's shoes but as a parent you might think oh gosh you know you can't imagine so therefore it's
03:20important but it's also important to then listen and to spend that time and see how that person wants
03:27to grieve or see how that person wants to celebrate their child or their baby and the fact that people
03:31are willing to do that for us and and take this all on board and kind of go along with my crazy idea
03:36that i had at three o'clock one morning to go let's throw a party for esme who's not here but let's do
03:40it anyway and it's turned into this amazing event at this amazing venue with all this support from
03:46businesses like chris had said about and but individual people just by just coming along for the day and
03:52spending a couple of quid on the tombola or the raffle i know that for me just standing in the
03:58marquee at chester house and seeing all of these people here thinking oh my god this is for my girl
04:02do you know what i mean this is all for her um it's just going to be really emotional it's really
04:07emotional just thinking about it so i know on the day people just being here and knowing that it's
04:14all for her which a lot of things obviously haven't been able to be um i think that's just yeah
04:21that's just going to knock it out of the park for me obviously it wouldn't be possible without
04:24support with chester house uh it's quite overwhelming really that people can be
04:29kind to and show this a level of kindness um it just it would just wouldn't be possible to have
04:35this event if it wasn't possible to be held here and the fact that it's it's in the half term
04:41holidays and when there'll be lots of families around it really just it's quite it's overwhelming
04:46like i say to know that that message is going to get spread not only on the day but leading up to
04:50it with it being an event on their website too um it is fantastic and of course um our thanks for
04:57also go to yourself as well simon because without the support of nmbn and the other other networks
05:02out there because spreading that message um it which is which we believe is a really powerful one and yet
05:07is unspoken one as much as a lot of other issues that are around the society these days um that it
05:13just we just wouldn't be able to get that message out there so obviously we're really really thankful
05:17to all of that support um those i have mentioned those i haven't mentioned they know who they are
05:21and it's anybody who's given a raffle prize anybody who's donated to the charity anybody who has
05:26shared the the event on their social media networks or word of mouth you know anything like that it's
05:32we're entirely truly thankful for that
05:34thank you
05:43you
05:45you