I was unable to do anything to save Freya, but I will do something great in her memory.

This year, Nathan will be running the London Marathon and the Great North Run as part of #TeamTommys.

He runs in memory of his baby girl Freya, who sadly passed away at 20 weeks. Ahead of the marathon, Nathan bravely shared his story.

The time was right

In early 2022, with our daughter Lyla approaching 18 months, my wife Amy and I decided the time was right to expand our family. However, things didn't start smoothly, and we sadly experienced 2 early pregnancy losses. Both were just before the 6-week mark.

So, we were ecstatic when we fell pregnant for a 3rd time and made it past that all important 12-week milestone. Everything seemed to be going well and we found out that we were expecting another little girl. We named her Freya Rose. Our little family was set to be complete.

Remaining positive

Unfortunately, due to pregnancy related complications, Amy became ill at 16 weeks. We were warned that Freya may not make it if the symptoms did not settle. It was both terrifying and frustrating as there was nothing the doctors could do to intervene.

We were at the mercy of biology due to the desperate need for further research into this type of complication. I was terrified of losing my unborn daughter and powerless watching my wife go through so much physical and mental pain. As the weeks slowly passed, Amy's suffering just got worse and worse. But, Freya appeared to be coping well, so we remained positive.

Baby Freya

Too pure for this world

Tragically, on October 1st 2022, a day over 20 weeks, our beautiful baby daughter Freya Rose was deemed too pure for this world and was born asleep. Our hearts have been shattered into a million pieces as we struggle to come to terms with the loss of Freya. We're now trying to navigate our way through life for Lyla, whilst holding Freya's memory close to our hearts. Nothing can prepare you for such heartbreak.

Creating a better future

This is why I'm running the London Marathon 2023 as part of #TeamTommys. I hope to help create a future where miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death are far less common so fewer families must experience the heartbreak we have endured. 

I was unable to do anything to save Freya, but I will do something great in her memory.