After "the most horrendous time", a Birtley family has channelled the grief from losing their baby into raising thousands to help others in the same situation through the 4Louis charity.
Melissa Gardner and Sam Lyons-Carr had struggled to conceive for "years", Melissa told ChronicleLive. But in October last year, after saving up for IVF treatment - they had to pay because Melissa has daughter Gabriella from a previous relationship - they were successful. Heartbreakingly though, in April this year, baby Luca died in the womb.
As he developed during pregnancy, medics discovered that Luca had a condition called a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. That's a life-threatening complication which can have a horrific impact on his organs. Despite the diagnosis, the couple were still hopeful that he would be survive - though they knew he was likely to be very poorly as a baby.
