CARA 13th Feb 2024 to 1st Feb 2025

I never thought I would ever have to write a post as difficult as this. On Saturday 1st February 2025 our beautiful baby Cara passed away after a short but catastrophic illness. Cara 11 months was admitted to A & E by ambulance where she was examined and sent to a ward. Despite remonstration from Cara’s mum she was discharged from the ward and advised Cara had a virus and to give her Calpol. Needless to say Cara deteriorated and mum again sent for an ambulance. Cara was admitted to A & E again and was so poorly she was airlifted to Southampton Paediatric Critical Care Unit. I will not name to first hospital as their dire failures will be addressed when our family have processed the shock and horror of what has taken place. This has left our whole family devastated especially Cara’s mummy Amy.

I fully understand that things are very difficult financially for most people, but we are asking for small donations from friends who would like to help. Any donations will be used to help with funeral costs, however the major part of any funding raised will be donated to the Paediatric Critical Care ward at Southampton and would be well deserved. As a family I cannot praise this hospital enough, words just don’t cover the medical and emotional care we received from all clinicians who worked tirelessly to save Cara in addition to looking after mum and our family with so much genuine feeling. They Arranged Cara’s christening, trimmed her room up with fairy lights and had nursery rhymes playing, nothing was too much trouble. These wonderful people really made the unbearable, bearable.

Whilst at the hospital they provided mum with Cara’s hand and footprint mouldings and also a beautiful memory box for mum to keep. The box had a personalised metal name tag on the front and contained all sorts of comforting keepsakes. We would like the donation to the hospital to be used to pay for some of these memory boxes to be provided, in Cara’s name, to the families of babies and children who the hospital are unable to save.

Thank you so very much for reading our story and thank you for any donation you feel you can make.