Milnrow grandmother and colleagues to walk 13.1 miles around Hollingworth Lake to fund a new cold cot at Royal Oldham Hospital

A Milnrow grandmother and her work colleagues will be walking a half-marathon distance around Hollingworth Lake on Sunday (6 August) to raise money for a cold cot at the Royal Oldham Hospital in memory of her grandson.

Michelle Moran will be joined by Tracy Dolan, Janice Crabtree, Julie Clark, Kirstine Dobson, Michelle Cowburn, Janette Tweedale and Angela Czuba in walking six-and-a-half laps of the lake in memory of her grandson Malice ‘Mali’ Luke Moran, who was sadly stillborn at 34 weeks at the Royal Oldham Hospital on 30 March.

The group are aiming to raise £2,800 towards an additional cold cot for the hospital, which are used to allow grieving families to spend more time with their babies.

Kelsey Moran, Mali’s mum, who has bravely shared her experience to help others in her son’s memory, said the hospital only has three cold cots, which were all in use by herself and two other mums.

Kelsey gave birth to Mali just 12 hours after her 34 week scan, where she was asked when she last felt her baby move.

“I had no reduced movement, no bleeding, no indicator something was wrong but all of a sudden I’d gone from planning to bring him home to my whole world being pulled from underneath me. Why? How? When? There were so many questions and not enough answers,” she explained.

Two sonographers failed to find Mali’s heartbeat which Kelsey hoped was a medical error, before she underwent a C-section that night.

She continued: “At 10.15pm, I became a mummy of two – except one boy was waiting at home for me to return, and the other would never come home. He weighed a huge 10lb, was breech and had a full head of thick black hair. He was so peaceful, almost sleeping and I found myself checking the covers to make sure they weren’t covering his little face and he was breathing okay. Except, he never did breathe.

“Things like this only happen in bad dreams, right? But this was the reality I was facing. The only story I had to compare it to was that of my Nana’s in the late ‘60s where she lost her boy: almost as soon as he was out, he was whisked away. I was astounded to say times have changed, and advances in medical technology meant I could use one of the trust’s cold cots.

“This meant my boy was able to stay cool and prevent him from deteriorating without the need to whisk him off away from me.

“I was told that under no circumstances should I feel pressure to leave. Whether that be days or hours I could stay with my little boy and only leave when I feel ready. I bathed him, put a nappy on him, combed his hair and dressed him as I would if he would have been born breathing. I took many photos and was able to play him videos of his daddy and brother, so he got to hear their voice.

“I got to have skin to skin and bond with my boy. There’s no right time to say okay, I’m ready to go, but after 12 beautiful hours, I knew I needed to return home to my biggest boy.”

 

 

Mum of two Kelsey went on: “One thing I learned is the day my boy passed, there were three cold cots in the trust. All of these were in use on the day we used one. What would happen if another mummy came in and needed one? Whose time would be cut short? Who would be forced to say goodbye before their time?

“I made this my goal to gift another cot to the trust. To help just one more family have a little more time with their lost loved one. I set up a Just Giving page with the aim to change the lives of other women. This will not bring my boy back. But it can make sure if you ever have to go through this, your family have the same, if not better, experience as me.

“We have had many donations from kind people who our story has touched personally. But one group of people that have taken this story and gone above and beyond are the beautiful staff on the eye ward at Rochdale Infirmary.

“From samosa sales, pamper hampers, football cards to the biggest fundraiser still yet to come, they have worked tirelessly to get us closer to our goal. 

“The walk begins at 8am and a few more may come on the day, but everyone at the eye ward has helped. Some walking and some running to give a little more time to those that need it.

“These ladies have committed to this walk and spent their weekends come rain or shine out practising, laughing through the blisters to give us one final push.”

Kelsey added: “Donating can be hard, the cost of living is hard right now, but if you can’t donate all I ask is to smile at those you pass, because you just never know what they are going through, and that smile may just be the one thing they needed at that moment.”

Donations towards the cold cot can be made via Just Giving: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/malicememory