Bears of hope fundraiser completed

 Thankyou so much to everyone who donated to Bears of Hope through the fundraiser we set up just days after Ava died. 

We raised over $2100 which we were thrilled about. This money will go a long way in supporting other grieving families. 

There are now 21 bears that will be sent to hospitals with Ava's name on them. The families who receive them will know they are not alone. They are able to sign the BOH online guestbook if they wish and I will be able to see what hospitals Ava's bears were sent to and the family who recieved the bear. 

The money raised also goes towards the packages that are sent with the bears that have support material and it also helps fund the psychologists who support families through BOH. I have already attended my first in person monthly support group and have recieved telephone counseling aswell. 

The bears that were tagged are the "Sophie" bear. These bears are given to families who have been fortunate (or unfortunate) to have birthed and held their baby after late miscarriage, stillbirth or shortly after birth. Their is the "Hope" bear for early miscarriage where women sadly haven't seen their baby and the "Xavier" bear for families who have experienced a neonatal loss where their baby may have spent time in a NICU. 

 

When I experienced my first miscarriage in October 2008, I was given nothing, no information, no support service leaflets - nothing! All I got was a nurse telling me to stop crying and not to worry because I was young and would have lots of other babies as I cried when waking up from the anaesthetic after having a D&C at 10 weeks. This was unhelpful and u compassionate and clearly she needed more training in how to treat women who have had their dream shattered, even though it may have been early on. 

My hope is that the Bears Of Hope organisation will be able to reach all hospitals in Australia with their support packages and be able to help provide training to staff on how to compassionately work with women and their families who are going though a devastating time.

Thankyou to the following people and their families who donated in memory of Ava as a way of supporting us in this fundraiser:

Belinda and Chris

Mel

Anonymous

Jeanine

Joanne

Helen

Tanya

Rowan

Julie

Nathan and Sarah

Melinda

Julie

Daniel

Tara

Shaina

Maree

Del and Karl

Lynne

Chris

Kate

Sarah and Mark

Margaret

Malcolm and Terie

BB Mothers grp

Angela 

Abbie

Gabi

Joanne

Rachel and Steve

Kerrie and Steve 

Emma

Bruce 

Leah

Narelle

Troy and Nicole

Heather and Aaron

Susan and Andrew

Tanya

Natalie