Three bereaved mum’s skydive in memory of their children

On Sunday 24th March, three incredible mums – Nicky, Rachel and Mary –  took part in a tandem skydive at Hinton’s Hedges Skydiving Centre and raised thousands of pounds for Helen & Douglas House – a place they hold dear to their hearts.

Nicky, Rachel and Mary, who named themselves Angel Mums, all lost a child in the same three month period in 2021 and met through a peer support group run by the bereavement team at Helen & Douglas House.

Their three children, Elara, Zac and Neve were all cared for at the hospice. The Angel Mums all wanted to raise money for a place that brought them all together and supported them  in some of the hardest times in their lives.

Rachel (centre) did her skydive in memory of her little boy Zac who died when he was just 2 years old. The sudden loss of Zac turned Rachel’s life upside down, but the support of Helen & Douglas House meant that she could say goodbye to Zac in her own way and give Zac the dignity he deserved.

“At the hospital we were made aware of a place for Zac at Helen & Douglas House… I can only describe them as angels on this earth. We stayed there with Zac for several days after he had passed away and they were so dignified and supportive. They made sure we ate, drank and did stuff with Zac to keep treasured keepsakes.

 

“Following the stay at Helen & Douglas House we were invited to attend group therapy, and this is where the ‘Angel Mums’ were formed. It has led us to meet some of the most incredible people I know and I treasure them dearly. We meet up regularly, and keep in touch over the phone. It’s invaluable!

 

“This is the most amazing charity and it really has been a lifeline.”

Mary did her skydive in memory of daughter Neve, who died suddenly in March 2021. Mary’s world was understandably changed in a split second. It was when she attended a Helen & Douglas House group bereavement session that she found the lifechanging support of fellow Angel Mums Nicky and Rachel.

“We lost our beautiful daughter Neve suddenly on 12th March 2021.Our whole world was turned upside down in a split second. This is when we first found ourselves being supported by the incredible Helen & Douglas House hospice. Helen & Douglas House have been invaluable to us as a family and has helped to pull us through some of our darkest day by way of face to face counselling sessions and telephone support and more importantly we connected with families who were going through the same horrific life changing ordeal as us, we were not alone in this nightmare. We have made life long best friends with two families who lost their beautiful son Zac and daughter Elara with in the same 3 month period we lost Neve.”

Nicky did her skydive in memory of daughter Elara, who died after a brave battle with cancer. Nicky found her loss hard to come to terms with, but the relationship she has built with Rachel and Mary through bereavement counselling sessions has helped her enermously.

“I sadly lost my wonderful daughter Elara in March 2021 after her brave and courageous battle with a rare childhood cancer. Her loss has unequivocally thrown my life into sadness and difficulty. The grief process is extremely tough to handle – and losing Elara is something I will be attempting to deal with every single day for the rest of my life.

 

“In Autumn 2021, I was invited to attend group counselling sessions, run by experts in child bereavement, at Helen & Douglas House. Whilst apprehensive, I did attend and here I met other families who had also lost their children in that same year. This shifted my grief process enormously. Being able to talk, safely and openly, with other people who were experiencing the same heart ache, trauma and tragic loss, parents that understood the dark, challenging and difficulties day to day was something that helped me in a totally different way. The other parents I met are now my closest friends, we speak daily and meet up regularly. Helen & Douglas House also support me in my loss by providing with weekly sessions with my child bereavement counsellor, again a resource that has proven extremely beneficial to me personally.”