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When things go wrong

Cathie Shipton's Story

Hi! My name is Cathie. I am extremely lucky to be the mother of three beautiful children. My first, Ivan, would be six now. My second, Maisy, is five and Noah (the baby) is two. Noah has Tetralogy of Fallot. It is because of my sons and our experiences with them that I volunteer for both ECHO and the MISS Foundation (an international charitable organisation supporting bereaved parents and their families).

Bereavement Message Board

Visit our Message Board which will give you the opporunity to contact other families who are dealing with similar circumstances and experiences.

All of us parents with heart-children know the terrible shock of diagnosis, the fear of an uncertain future for our precious children, the utter terror of leaving them in the anaesthetic room before heart surgery and the sheer joy when they are returned to us, in most cases pinker and healthier (for the time being anyway). But for a very few parents, the nightmare is only beginning and tragically their babies or children lose their brave fight for life.

If that were not bad enough, we know that many feel isolated from friends and family, and also from the support structures and groups (like ECHO) that had helped them before their child’s death. ECHO, like many other support groups, now recognises the importance of making sure that bereaved parents are not abandoned at such a tragic time and that appropriate care and support is made available to them whenever they need it.

We are delighted to welcome Cathie Shipton to the ECHO team of volunteers. As you will see from Cathie’s story, she tragically lost her baby son, Ivan, just after birth six years ago. From her experience she now offers to support and befriend other bereaved parents and is available on the telephone number given with immediate effect.

PLEASE NOTE – CATHIE IS NOT A COUNSELLOR BUT JUST AVAILABLE TO BEFRIEND AND SUPPORT.