Parents continue fight for memorial garden for stillborn babies in Cornwall
It's after Kay and Darren lost their baby Joseph at 23 weeks due to a late miscarriage
A couple from Cornwall are continuing their fight for a memorial garden in Cornwall, where stillborn babies can be laid to rest.
Kay and Darren Collier, from the St Austell area, lost little Joseph at 23 weeks in December 2018.
But because there was no registered birth, there could be no registered death.
"It's the worst pain I've ever suffered and it's the worst thing in my life that I've ever encountered, and I've had a lot of mishaps.
"Anything that goes ahead now I can overcome because I'm fighting for him, and just knowing that he is part of my life forever.
"He gives me the strength to just carry on, even though it is the worst heartache that you can ever imagine."
Kay Collier, Joseph's mum
They have since launched their own charity, called Rest with Joseph and Friends, and are on a mission to raise money for a plot of land where they can have a burial ground.
It will used as a place to lay sons and daughters to rest who have been born through a late miscarriage.
"I mean to lose a baby anyway is horrendous, but to know there is no record of him on your family tree at all, he is non-existent, everyone says that you're still a mum but there is no trace of him anywhere."
Kay Collier, Joseph's mum
Fundraising for the charity kicked off last summer when Darren rode his 20” child’s BMX From London to Truro over the August Bank Holiday in 2019, dressed as a monkey.
Future campaigns have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and Darren has since suffered Motor Nerve Damage on top of his Crohn’s Disease.
With the nerve damage under investigation and no current cause, he has since lost his ability to walk and ride like he used to.
He has now set himself a more pain staking and grueling challenge, to push himself both mentally and physically, by walking end to end of Cornwall.
Darren was once a very active man but now struggles to move without crutches. He reckons the challenge will take him around two weeks.
He will set off from Gunnislake on Saturday 5th December and walk down to Land's End, going through Liskeard, Lostwithiel, St Austell, Truro, Falmouth, Helston and Penzance along the way.
You can follow his journey on Facebook here.
You can find the Go Fund Me page for Darren's challenge here.