In Loving Memory of Elizabeth Lilly

Elizabeth was born sleeping on August 30th 2022. She was a textbook pregnancy - no issues whatsoever for 27 weeks. She had a strong heartbeat at every appointment; she was always so naughty in her scans - never staying still to be measured. She was a very active baby, constantly flipping and kicking to remind me she was there.

We went on holiday to Gran Canaria when I was 26 weeks pregnant. It was a COVID holiday that had been postponed for so long; we were so excited to go. Throughout the entire week, Elizabeth was very active, letting me know when she didn't like being in the cold water or was hungry for the all-inclusive buffet.

We were due to fly home on the 27th August 2022. We arrived at the airport at 7:30 pm to be told there was a delay and that we would not be flying home until the next day. We were put back on another coach and arrived at another hotel at 9 pm. Elizabeth's movements were not noticed much during those few hours due to the stress, but when no movement was felt during that night, we began to worry. The following day we still felt nothing but had been informed we would be on a flight and home at approx 10 pm that day. As soon as we landed, we went straight to the hospital. We joked that she had gone to sleep and was being a nuisance making us worry. We even took a selfie while we waited for a midwife to get the equipment to check Elizabeth's heartbeat.

They could not find it. The midwife tried for what felt like hours, and a more senior midwife tried but to no avail. We had an ultrasound confirming our worst fears. Our little girl's heartbeat was no longer there.

We had no explanation for why this had happened; she had been so active in the previous days that it did not seem possible. But it was possible, and she was gone.

The next day we went back to the hospital for an appointment with their bereavement team, the lotus team. They did another ultrasound to check - still no heartbeat. We were given a tablet to stop the pregnancy hormones and returned the day later to be induced.

Elizabeth was born at 11:52 pm on August 30th, after 3 hours of active labour, weighing 2lbs and 1 oz. She was beautiful. We had five precious days with her before we went home without her. Five days where we could make special memories and show her to all the family. She was a deeply loved little girl.

The funeral for Elizabeth was held on the 12th of September, 2022. She had an excellent service full of the people who loved her the most. We paid tribute to our beautiful little girl and buried her with precious memories we had made during our time together.

We visit her every week for as long as we can, bringing fresh flowers and stories of our days. We tell her exactly how much we continue to love her in the hopes that she is there. The time has since come for us to think about a headstone.

Unfortunately, we cannot finance this ourselves as we were not expecting to have to bury our daughter in this lifetime. We are saving what we can and will continue to do so, but it has dawned on us that our little girl won't get the headstone she deserves for a very long time doing this alone.

We are asking for donations, however small, to help create the perfect headstone for a perfect little girl.

Our families and we will appreciate every single donation or share during this time.