Love Matilda

Love Matilda's mission is to provide Matilda's Marvellous Memory boxes to babies living with life limiting conditions in N. Ireland's neonatal units xo

Hi, I'm Claire. On 28th July 2013 I met the centre of my universe. With her jet black hair and sweet baby smell, Miss Matilda Margaret Ruth Gray had arrived. When Matilda was just 5 days old, our world fell apart as the alien words "Edward's Syndrome, Trisomy 18" echoed round my head and tore out my heart. . . . It was as though I was being hit by a freight train to my soul's core, to hear that our newborn daughter's life was limited.

After 14 days in the neonatal unit, we brought Matilda home. During the "amazing 90 days of miss Matilda Gray" we made thousands of memories, which I treasure beyond all words. She went to the duck pond and the beach. She heard the birds sing and felt the summer sun and the autumn breeze.

I remember the immense fear that Matilda would not get the chance to go home, and our heartfelt wish to give Matilda as many "normal" experiences as possible whilst in the neonatal unit.

To mark Matilda's 3rd birthday in July 2016, I began crowdfunding to "give the gift" of a MATILDA'S MARVELLOUS MEMORY BOX to babies living with life limiting conditions in ALL the neonatal units of Northern Ireland. To mark Matilda's 4th birthday in July 2017, I launched Love Matilda, as a way to continue to fundraise to provide Matilda's Marvellous Memory Boxes and hopefully grow into helping in other ways in the future also.

Through fundraising events, and our crowdfunding campaign, we have raised over £8000. This has been THANKS to the WONDERFUL generosity of people like YOU xoxox