We cycled from Auckland to Queenstown over two months, 2250Km via some amazing, beautiful locations, we made the route up as we went along based on recommendations from locals. We averaged 55km a day and elevation gain of 660m/day which overall means we Everested more than 3 times, this means cycling up Everest 3 times in total over the whole trip, total elevation gain- 27000m. For reference, our plane on the journey home was travelling at 12,000m altitude so we…
Content warning: foul language (sorry Julie) I used to do a lot of climbing and have always felt that being strong is such a positive attribute. Since Lenny died, I have started weight training with Mim, this has made me strong…. which is positive – side note – this is not a positive thing to come out of Lenny dying, NOTHING POSITIVE CAME OUT OF THE DEATH OF MY CHILD!!! Being physically strong has made a positive impact on my…
Mim: It was an unconventional start to a relationship which I would probably call more of a friendship now……. one of the first interactions I had with Emily was her putting a few stitches in my nether regions. That isn’t my usual approach to making friends. I will rewind a little here. Lenny was born following a straightforward labour where there were no concerns until the last few minutes, the room filled with people, he was born and immediately resuscitated….
If I had a pound for every time someone asked if I was back at work since Lenny died I’d never have to work again… the irony. I don’t know whether it is seen as a sign of being ok, a benchmark of sanity that being back working means all is good, no need to worry about the crazy person any more or its just a topic of conversation. Either way no one enjoys work chat! But I haven’t been…
She’s MINT!!!!!! My words cannot do this incredible mother, wife and absolute warrior justice! But seeing it is out 10 year wedding anniversary I’m going to try, it cant be worse than that poor speech I did at our wedding!. We met at the University of Sheffield, we both had a passion for the outdoors and a good party! We quickly fell in love at the climbing wall and a first date at Casanova, what a romantic! From first meeting…
WARNING FOUL LANGUAGE! No parents should have to sign two post mortem forms within 7 months, actually no one should ever have to sign that form! We were offered the ‘post mortem booklet and we told the consultant that we already had a copy and knew all about it! .. this is not a booklet that anyone should have to read! What the fuck has happened to our lives in the last 7 months? Mim has summed up the death…
I met Moy for lunch recently. We don’t generally meet in a public place since Lenny died. We go out in nature or drink tea at home and chat. So, I spent a long time trying to find a place which wouldn’t put gluten in everything and, if I’m honest, a place that I hoped wouldn’t be full of prams. Protecting them feels like a natural instinct. We ended up in a cafe suggested by Mim, which I suspected would…
After a varied week I felt I needed to do something for the little guy, so we now have an Instagram account, Not much on yet, but lots of Lenny’s adventures and grief content soon. It’s been an absolute SHITTER of a few days (sorry for the language but I’m not articulate enough to express my emotions more appropriately) The HSIB report is has been on the whole a horrible experience, its made us feel really dark and I’ve tried…
If you attended the 2022 SANDS garden day at the National Memorial Arboretum, you would have most certainly heard this poem, and maybe thought, What? Otherwise, you may have heard it thrown about the grief or baby loss community, or you have not heard about it at all before. Either way, It annoys me, not because I don’t like poetry (which I don’t), but it completely misrepresents how grieving parents feel. Ok, I’ll explain. So SANDS used it at as…
I first met the ‘new normal’ on the 19th December 2021, the day after Lenny had died. We were sat in the bereavement suite at Chesterfield hospital, on the side there were some child loss pamphlets and a child loss book, with the phrase, your ‘new normal,’ in the title. As you do, I read the title and judged a book by its cover and immediately thought … Sod off! I don’t need a new normal, what’s wrong with the…