Aye, that is a question that I have been asked a good few times now!
As Highland Coordinator for the charity SiMBA, Simpson's Memory Box Appeal I am blessed to see first hand the difference that the charity can make to bereaved families. Whether it is the comfort the Memory Box and its treasured items bring, or the peacefulness of seeing baby's name and date and a wee message on a leaf on the Tree of Tranquility, or the honour of hearing people share at a Support Meeting, or the pride of seeing a Family Room completed, or the joy of talking about the charity and our experience at meetings, forums or training days ~ it is truly heart warming to see the incredible help the charity can be to people in the depths of a grief a parent should never experience.
When I left hospital after losing Alex at 13 weeks gestation, I had no support, nobody to talk to, nobody to share my grief with. She was 'just a miscarriage' (a phrase I still hate!) and I was 'lucky already to have a daughter' and I needed to get on with life.
When I left hospital after losing Eilidh Beth at 34 weeks to stillbirth we only had a couple of photos of her and her hand and foot prints and I knew that with her passing a part of my heart and soul had gone with her. How I wish we had had SiMBA when we were in hospital, but the charity has allowed me to honour the memory of our daughters in the most amazing ways!
So, this is why I organise and take part in the challenges that I do. This is why I am planning to canoe 92km from Fort William to Inverness in July / August. Granted the SiMBA Great Glen Challenge is the biggest one yet! 92km of the Great Glen by canoe over 4 days, 3 nights! But I am incredibly excited about it! And I am even more excited that we will be raising awareness of this amazing charity that is incredibly responsive to the needs of bereaved parents.
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