A bereaved mum has shared her story to help launch a Christmas fundraising campaign for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield.

Talia Horner, 35, received incredible support from the hospice when baby son Reggie died.

Reggie was born at 34 weeks with a condition that meant he had no oesophagus. He died suddenly in 2020 at just five months old.

Hospice staff helped Talia work through her grief and mixed emotions when she was pregnant with second son Albie.

Talia said: “Fortunately Forget Me Not were on hand to support me. Just having them at the end of the phone over the next few months made me feel better. They made my worst nightmare a bit more bearable.

“They supported me with everything, to be honest with you. When I was pregnant with Albie, my head was all over the place. I felt like I was replacing Reggie.

“Forget Me Not invited me to a support group for parents who were pregnant who had lost a baby. And they helped me think of my pregnancy as a blessing, that Reggie had sent me his little brother to keep me safe.

“The team there are like family. They do so much for us and they help keep Reggie’s spirit alive, especially at this time of year. Christmas is so hard anyway but without Forget Me Not it would be even more difficult. I don’t know where I’d be without them.

“It’s the hardest thing I’m ever going to have to deal with – waking up every day without Reggie in my life. But Forget Me Not gave me hope. Hope that I could live without him. Hope that I could be a mum again to Albie.

“Your donation could give hope to another parent like me. Tragically, more families need Forget Me Not’s help every year. And Christmas is a particularly busy time for the hospice.

“But £10 would go a long way, it could pay for a family to have a coffee with someone who understands what they’re going through. So that they know they’re not alone.”

Forget Me Not, which supports babies and children with life-shortening conditions as well as their families, has launched its Christmas fundraising campaign. It is encouraging people to donate via a JustGiving page.

Dewsbury-based estate agent Hunters will match any donation up to £500 made on Tuesday, November 28.

Gareth Pierce, CEO at Forget Me Not, said: “Christmas is a particularly difficult time for families facing or living with the loss of their child. We’re here so no family has to go through that alone.

“With only 10% of the funds we need coming from the NHS or government, even small donations can make a big difference to families like Talia’s.”

To donate visit www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/christmas-appeal