Four years on from their own heartbreak, a North East couple have successfully founded a charity to support families with seriously ill babies at the Freeman Hospital.
Amanda and Kevin Charlton have launched the Lydia-Rose Heart Foundation charity in memory of their little girl. Lydia-Rose died aged 15 months. She had been through more than 20 surgical procedures in her short life, as she was born with a condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).
The little girl, who was born in May 2017, was a "miracle" to her parents, who had spent a long time hoping for a baby. Now, in her memory and inspired by the charities which helped during the family's time in hospital, Amanda told ChronicleLive how they hoped the Lydia-Rose Heart Foundation would be able to give back.
Read more: North Tyneside charity uses 'arts, crafts and craic' to help people living with cancer
She said: "We have been trying to get everything set up since 2019, but Covid hit and that made it more difficult. We finally got it all recognised just before Christmas. So now we are in a position to help other families. Our charity aims to help families financially when they are in hospital.
"While you are spending so much time in hospital, one thing that can be easy to forget is the bills at home."
The family, who live in Billingham, were left understandably heartbroken after Lydia-Rose's death - but they have always been determined that her legacy would live on. Amanda added: "I found out at the 20-week-scan that she had HLHS.
"We were told it would be 50/50 for her surviving. But we had been trying for a long time to have a baby and we felt that we would do whatever we could to give her a fighting chance. She had open-heart surgery at two days old."
Amanda explained that despite the challenges Lydia-Rose faced, she was always "just a happy little girl" who loved to giggle. She said the loss of her baby daughter had been horrendous - but helping others was now the priority. She said: "When she passed away I was a mess.
"It was awful but we felt we had to help others. We wanted to give back. Charity had helped me financially, helped me to pay the rent. So that's why we wanted to help try and get the charity set up in Lydia-Rose's memory - and keep her name alive."
Find out more about the Lydia-Rose Heart Foundation on Facebook.
READ NEXT:
- New ambulances 'welcome' say North East leaders as Government warned more staff and Levelling Up are vital
- Blood scandal campaigners are 'right to be angry' says top barrister warning wrongdoing medics should face criminal courts
- NHS seeks feedback on urgent care in Newcastle as Westgate Road walk-in centre to remain closed until March
- Hospital trust chair explains reasons behind 'unprecedented NHS challenges' include strikes, Long Covid and climate change
- NHS waiting lists in numbers: How many people are waiting for treatment in the North East and which operations take the longest
