Skegness mum who lost baby raises money for charities who helped her

Logan Finley Pilton-Jones was just 34 weeks when he was stillborn at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital on August 2 last year, after his mum, Melissa, became worried when she stopped feeling him kicking,

Melissa, of Lancaster Avenue, suffered seven miscarriages between having her two other children Jayden Lee, six, and Pheobe-May, two, and she and fiancé Chris were full of hope and looking forward to the arrival of their third ‘to complete the family’.

She said: “On the morning we went home we walked down from the labour ward to the hospital’s mortuary. It broke me and Chris to leave - we didn’t want to go.

“I got outside and it hit me. I was leaving without my baby.

“The charity Aching Arms had provided us with a teddy bear from parents who had been in the same situation as us.

“We walked out of the hospital squeezing the bear so hard.”

Now, Melissa and her aunt Sandra Smith are organising a fundraiser for Aching Arms and the charity 4 Louis who gave a memory box so the couple could treasure the memories of their short time with Logan.

The fundraiser comes as awareness of the anguish experienced by families who lose babies is being raised in the latest storyline on ITV’s Coronation Street, after the characters Steve and Michelle McDonald lost their baby.

Melissa said: “I watched those scenes and how Michelle said goodbye to her baby and thought ‘that was us’. I said those things to Logan.

“Life will never be the same without him. I may not carry him in my arms but he will always be in our hearts.”

The charities Aching Arms and 4 Louis continue to be a huge support to Melissa, Chris and their family and they hope to raise as much money as possible at a fun day later this month. Melissa said: “I hope others who watched those scenes on Coronation Street will be inspired to support the charities who are helping bereaved parents and come to our fundraiser.”

Logan is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard and Melissa’s aunt Alice Manville will be holding a stall to help raise the £840 needed for a headstone. The fun day takes place at St Clement’s Church Hall in Skegness on Saturday, February 25, from 1pm to 5pm. There will be a bouncy castle, Paw Patrol characters, tea and cakes, crafts, a tombola, stalls and raffles.