Mum takes on 200-mile Cambridge to Bruges bike ride for late baby son
Rhiannon Lawson will cycle between both cities in honour of her son, who had a rare heart condition
A mother is taking on a long-distance cycling challenge from Cambridge to Bruges in Belgium to raise money for a hospital charity that supported her after the loss of her baby.
Rhiannon Lawson, from Long Melford, Suffolk is preparing to cycle more than 200 miles - organised by the Cycle4Good charity - alongside around 30 others to raise funds for the My WiSH Charity, which supports West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
She is raising money specifically for the maternity unit at West Suffolk Hospital, after her son Hudson was born at 22 weeks in March last year.
“In that awful moment in your life, you don’t have time to think about any of that stuff and the fact that we’ve got his handprints and his hand casts and we’ve got all of those things is so important to us,” Ms Lawson said.
The Jasmine suite at the hospital, partly funded by the charity, allowed Ms Lawson and her partner to spend time together privately as a family.
She said the support provided made a lasting difference during an extremely difficult time.
The charity also funds memory boxes, which can include hand and footprints, casts, and other items to help families remember their baby.
It can also provide cold cots, allowing parents to spend more time with their child after birth.
“All of that is because My WiSH provides money to the unit to be able to do all of that,” Ms Lawson said.
Ms Lawson added that without fundraising, some of these services may not be available to other families.
“If My WiSH can’t support it, then other families might not get it,” she said.
Fundraising effort
The Cambridge to Bruges cycle ride is expected to raise at least £15,000, with each participant aiming for a minimum of £500.
Ms Lawson said the funds would help cover the cost of memory boxes, which are around £2,500 per year, as well as contribute to wider improvements in the unit.
“It makes such a big difference,” she said. “You don’t want to be in a really sterile environment… you want to be comfortable, and you want to feel like your family for a little bit.”
She has already helped raise around £11,000 through donations, raffles and local fundraising events, with support from businesses and organisations including a Colchester baby shop, a Sudbury hairdresser and Watford Football Club.
“We want him to carry on making a difference”
Hudson was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare condition affecting around one in 5,000 babies.
Ms Lawson described the experience as traumatic, but said the support from hospital staff and the charity helped her family cope.
“It could have been so much worse, but we were so supported and loved and looked after,” she said.
Ms Lawson has since had another baby and said the experience had made subsequent pregnancies particularly difficult, although she praised the care provided by the hospital.
Reflecting on her fundraising, she said she hopes sharing Hudson’s story will help others.
“He made us a mum and dad and he made such a big difference to us and we want him to carry on making a difference to other people,” she said
“I have spoken to other parents who have been through similar things and I like doing that to kind of make people feel like they’re not on their own.”
Ms Lawson added that while miscarriage is widely discussed, earlier losses are less often talked about.
“We very rarely talk about preterm and very early losses where you have to give birth and you have to have a baby, that’s a very different experience,” she said.
Support available
Support is available for anyone affected by baby loss through NHS services and specialist charities.