Hallie's Heroes

"What do we do when our hearts hurt?" asked the boy. " We wrap them in love with friendship, shared tears and time, till they wake hopeful and happy again." Charlie Mackesy 2019.

It is almost a year since Toni and I gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Hallie Marshall. Although we cannot tell her how much we love her, we feel her with us, every single day. Hallie was stillborn on 21st September 2021. She was born with a condition called Patau's syndrome which is a rare genetic disorder caused by having an additional copy of chromosome 13 in some or all the body's cells.

Toni's pregnancy was a challenging one with many scans at the Ulster Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital. It was in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital that we were given the heart-breaking news that Hallie would not survive birth. This devasting news led to us having to travel to Birmingham Women’s hospital in England. The doctors, nurses, and midwives, in Birmingham, could not do enough for Toni and I. Their care, compassion and professionalism truly helped us get through what was a horrendous experience.

Prior to returning to Northern Ireland, we were informed that we could not bring Hallie home with us. The Childbirth and Loss Midwifery Service at the Royal Jubilee Hospital stepped in and arranged to bring Hallie home to Toni and I. The bereavement midwives service has been incredibly supportive to us and continue to help us to this day.

As we are approaching Hallie’s 1st Birthday, on 21st September, we wanted to mark the occasion by raising money for the units that supported us throughout an extremely difficult time. I, along with friends Andy, Chris and Stuart will take on the challenge to run the Bangor 10k on the 24th of September.

Toni and I would be forever grateful if you could make a donation and we will split the money between Birmingham Women’s Hospital Maternity unit and the Childbirth and Loss Midwifery Service at the Royal Jubilee Hospital.

Thank you very much

Toni and Stephen