A Bereaved Mother is walking 16 Miles to Raise Money for EACH
Kerry Ball and her sister Amanda join in the Suffolk Pier 2 Pier event in May.
“Everyone went above and beyond," says a bereaved mother from Suffolk.
Kerry Ball's son Finley passed away on the 20th of November 2012 at just 15 days old. She is taking on the Suffolk Pier 2 Pier walk, covering 16 miles from Lowestoft to Southwold to raise money for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH)
In a press release, they revealed Kerry had a "normal pregnancy" but faced complications during labour.
Finley was born with "shoulder dystocia, which occurs when a baby's anterior shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone. It prevents the baby from continuing through the birth canal."
24 minutes after Finley was born, he was resuscitated but left "severely brain damaged, blind, possibly deaf and had cerebral palsy. He was also having seizures."
Kerry told us it was at this point EACH Counsellor Michelle Parkins came to see her in the hospital and told her about The Treehouse Children's Hospice.
“Her support and counselling was an absolute godsend and I don't know how I’d have got through some days without her.
EACH had arranged transport from the hospital to The Treehouse for the family, as Finley had lots of medical needs to be supported, including oxygen.
Kerry and her husband thought that when the oxygen was removed, he would pass on.
To their delight, he was able to live for another 7 days where they were able to "do so much with him" and "create memories."
Including getting Finley's hand and footprints on a large canvas, going out on walks together and having photo's taken.
"They found us a pram so we could take him out, all of his wires and everything that had been attached to him in hospital were gone, so we could have professional photos done."
She told us being at The Treehouse gave her family some privacy and normality, they had a room with a bed, for Kerry and her husband and a room next door for their eldest son. and a private bathroom.
Kerry praised the staff for everything they did for them and that "thank you wouldn't cut it" as they're all so "uniquely brilliant" and without them "it wouldn't be what it is."
"They cooked for us, they were taking our clothes and washing them, ironing them and bringing them back. We could just spend every moment with him, without having to worry about anything."
Even now 12 years later, Kerry said their support hasn't stopped, "it's still there now."
Many Years after Finley, Kerry and her husband had twins through IVF and brought them to see Michelle from EACH.
She told us she will continue to raise money for EACH to show her appreciation for everything they did to help her family.
Kerry and her family have raised around £10,000 since 2012 and have no plans to stop.
Her fundraising page can be found here.