Today, 3rd March, is 9 years since our precious son Elliot (EJ), went to sleep and never woke up. It is 8 years ago today that we launched Elliot’s Footprint, a charity to help other families so they don’t suffer alone after the sudden death of their child. I am proud of what we have achieved with our amazing fundraisers and supporters and fantastic trustees and I know there is still much more work to do. There are still families who don’t get the support they so desperately need and there is sadly still a reluctance to talk about child death – this pushes people to feel more isolated and alone – when in reality if we talk about it, more people start to share their stories, have a greater understanding and empathy and whilst talking can never take away the devastating death of our children, it can help build those new connections and help realise that we don’t have to keep our loss in isolation.
Elliot was a cheeky rascal who loved mischief and knew he could get away with most mishaps by using the magic of his beautiful blue eyes and his amazing snuggly hugs. Elliot loved to connect with people, he would chat to adults and hug his toddler friends if they were sad. He loved his brother and sister and always wanted to be part of the action. So, in the spirit of Elliot and celebrating the 8 years of his legacy through Elliot’s Footprint we wanted to launch our ‘share your story’ blog. We want to help with the understanding and connections for families, friends, colleagues and professionals. If you would like to share your story of loss, whether it was your son or daughter, your brother or sister or you were the friend who didn’t know what to do but was just there anyway – and if you are a professional who have supported families and want to share your experience please get in touch. If you have any tiny nuggets of what helped, what you tried – please share them as it can give others a helpful insight.
Please get in touch with us at elliotsfootprint@gmail.com
