A brave family, whose unborn son sadly died at 32 weeks of pregnancy, have fundraised an incredible £5,515.30 for the Dudley Group NHS Charity’s baby bereavement appeal, part of The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust.
Tegan Turner and Kieran Maritza attended the hospital in March 2024 and a scan sadly confirmed their baby had died. Albie-Jo was born on Saturday 16th March 2024, the couple had their family with them, by their side.
The whole family were absolutely devastated and utterly broken by their loss. During their stay in the baby bereavement suite at Russells Hall Hospital, Albie-Jo was placed in a special cot called an Abi cot. This cot allows parents to spend more time with their baby after they have died, that would otherwise not be possible. This special cot was able to keep Albie-Jo cool and enable the family to spend precious time together, to take photos to cherish, to hold and cuddle him and to make lasting memories.
After this heartbreaking time, the family wanted to do something to support the unit and decided to start fundraising. This helped the family to cope with the loss of their son and grandson. They wanted to purchase a cold cot for the baby bereavement unit to give other grieving families the chance to spend precious time with their babies. With the help of their friends and family, they organised many events including raffles, charity car washes, a sponsored walk, a charity evening and a sponsored inflatable fun
run. They were overwhelmed with the support from the public and managed to raise enough funds for the Dudley Group NHS Charity to purchase two Abi Cots.
The Abi Cots are beautifully displayed with descriptive plaques engraved with words written by the family. Albie-Jo’s family have said that knowing the cots will help and support other families like it did for them, will continue to provide comfort and honour Albie-Jo’s memory.
Lisa Maritza, Kieran’s mother said “Our sadness and heartbreak gave us the strength to raise money as we knew that this would help more families. We also raised enough money to purchase baby clothes for families to use. We are all so proud to have been able to achieve this. Our beautiful Albie-Jo’s memory will now live on in a lovely way when people read his plaques and know that his family donated these beautiful Cold Cots.”
The family are truly grateful to all the amazing staff that helped to provide vital support and kindness during their incredibly upsetting journey.
Maternity matron, Katie Philpott, commented “As a team, we would like to say a huge thank you to Tegan, Kieran and their families. Their incredibly kind donation of two Abi Cots and an enormous supply of clothes, including those suitable for premature babies, will benefit so many families undergoing a similar experience.
The death of a baby is completely devastating and for a family to be able to achieve this during the depths of their grief, is nothing short of amazing.”
If you would like to support the baby bereavement unit at Russells Hall Hospital, please visit: Current appeals – Dudley Group NHS Charity.
