Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware.   Fancy name for the title of a blog – well I think so anyway. However, this blog is about discussing my Footprints in the Sand fundraiser that I organised and hosted on Sunday the 3rdof March 2019 at North Beach, Wallaroo (yes, the fundraiser was on the beach). The first fundraiser that I organised and hosted was in February 2018, and immediately after I finished that fundraiser, I knew that I wanted to do one every year in our son’s memory and so the planning begun for the next one. At first it was quite a challenge as I knew I wanted to do something completely different from the first one – challenge accepted!!! The planning of this fundraiser was built around my initial idea of a memorial walk along the beach (and obviously the name of the fundraiser … Continued

Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware.   Continuing from my previous blog about the life lessons that I have learnt since the loss of our son, here is Life Lesson #7, which is all about the Grief Journey – I have found that when you experience something so tragic and life altering you really do learn a lesson about grief and the long journey that follows. I am sure that everyone has heard the saying “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the Journey” – well within the last couple of months I have realised that the grief journey following baby loss is a continual and unending journey with no destination in sight. It is a journey that I will continue to walk every day of my life until my last breath and I am sure that I will continue to learn many life lessons along … Continued

Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware.   Continuing from my previous blog about the life lessons that I have learnt since the loss of our son, here is Life Lesson #6. “I have heard it said that the greatest loss a human being can experience is the loss of a child. This is true. It doesn’t just change you, it demolishes you. The rest of your life is spent on another level” – Gloria Vanderbilt. There is no fancy title or name for this life lesson (sorry about that) – it quite simply is about how much my perspectives and outlook on life and many things to do with life changed following the loss of our son. The first 27 years of my life ended at 9:31am on the 28thof August 2017 (when our son passed away at 31 minutes old) and the new chapter of … Continued

Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware. Continuing from my previous blog about the life lessons that I have learnt since the loss of our son, here is Life Lesson #5. There is now nothing – absolutely nothing that I take for granted. This is life lesson #5 for me. Being a mother to our child is the best gift I could ever have been given, even if it is not in the way I wanted or expected. Even death can’t take that motherhood away. You become a mother the moment that you conceive a baby and you stay a mother even in death, how you choose to live your life and the memory of your child is then your decision to make as a parent and no one else’s input matters. It is your choice as they are your child. To be honest, there is a lot … Continued

Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware. Continuing from my previous blog about the life lessons that I have learnt since the loss of our son, here is Life Lesson #4. “It’s not what we have in our life, it is who we have in our life that matters”. This is life lesson #4. What do I mean by this statement? Well, this is something that has taken me a while to realise and think about following our loss – but just over a year later it is a topic that I feel passionate about and one that I can continue to look back on, reflect on and discuss quite confidently.  This lesson is quite a harsh one, but in saying that, it is also an important one as well. It is not the people that are there on the day of the loss, at the time … Continued

Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware. Continuing from my previous blog about the life lessons that I have learnt since the loss of our son, here is Life Lesson #3. One simple word, GRIEF – and what a word this is. The real definition of grief is ‘intense sorrow, especially caused by someone’s death’. But for me, a bereaved mother, there is so much more meaning to this word than just this short and simple definition. What does the word GRIEF mean to me? Well, I will grieve for a lifetime. Period. There is no ‘getting over it’, no solution, no fix to my heartache. There is no end to the ways or how long I will grieve and no going back in time. For as long as I breathe, I will grieve, ache and love our son with all my heart and soul. Most people … Continued

Lauren Citrone, mother of Logan, wrote this poem in remembrance of her angel baby, a year after he was born sleeping on 26 January 2014. This year is Logan’s 5th birthday. “It’s been 365 days since you kicked me and I felt you move inside me It’s been 365 days since I was told your little heart was no longer beating Since they handed you to me and I was able to say “hello Logan” It’s been 365 days since I hugged you And kissed you And whispered to you how much I love you Since I touched your soft hair And checked under your swaddled blanket to see if you had my toes or your daddy’s Its been 365 days since I said goodbye to you And now today, one year since you left this earth we lay you to rest. I remember when I took your ashes home … Continued

Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware. Continuing from my previous blog about the life lessons that I have learnt since the loss of our son, here is Life Lesson #2. When you lose a child, you become an exclusive member of a different society/different group of people in the world. There is one bond that is formed through the loss of a baby and that is the bond between bereaved parents – an unspeakable bond that I am continually struck by. People that you have never previously met or known become your strength within a heartbeat of time. I think this bond is just a pure and true understanding of the heart and one that connects us in many ways, even if we have never met before. You share in the same tragedy that they share in, you can relate to them when you feel like … Continued

Written by Sarah Pridham, mum of Jasper, for Still Aware. There are many things that I have learnt during my journey of baby loss – life lessons I guess you could call them. My blog over the next couple of months will be touching on some of the Life Lessons, or things that I have learnt. “No matter who tries to teach you lessons about life, you won’t understand it until you go through it on your own” – Author Unknown. Growing up, one of the most common things I would hear adults say was in reference to the lessons that they have learnt throughout their life so far, they would always say that as you grow up, you will learn things as you go and these become your life lessons. They give you the experience to grow as a person and to gain knowledge in different aspects of life. … Continued

This is a personal blog by Sarah Pridham and Still Aware acknowledge this may be sensitive to some readers. This blog does not reflect the views of Still Aware, however, we are sensitive to understand this blog does depict the turmoil some bereaved parents endure and there are many faces of grief. Still Aware want you to know you are not alone.     It seemed fitting to have my next blog about Christmas time since it is nearly that time of the year again. I remember not long after our loss, Christmas was fast approaching, and I remember reading in so many books, blogs and stories about loss that the ‘firsts’ of everything were the hardest – the first Christmas, first Birthday, first angelversary, first Mother’s Day and so on. It was true – a little under 4 months after our loss was our first Christmas, well what was meant … Continued