A BRAVE mum who was left heartbroken when two of her children were born without heartbeats just six months apart has raised hundreds of pounds for the charity which helped her through the ordeal.  

Jade McLellan and her partner Aidan’s son Huxley was stillborn at Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital in January last year, leaving the couple devastated.

The 23-year-old mum told the Telegraph they had barely come to terms with Huxley’s passing when their daughter Sadie was also born with no pulse.

But thanks to Simba, a charity which helps families deal with stillbirths and miscarriages, Jade was able to create precious memories with her two children and had a space to spend time with them.

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Jade today praised the incredible support she had received from the good cause.

She said: “It was a really hard time, and when we were just getting over what had happened the first time it happened again.

“A lot of people didn’t know what Simba does, they don’t have any idea until it happens to somebody, because to be fair I didn’t know either.

“I didn’t even know anybody who’d gone through this until it was me but I think it’s something like one in four women can expect something like that, whether it be stillbirth or a miscarriage.

“I had my first son Finley fine full term, then I had Huxley at 21 weeks.

“Five days before Huxley was born everything just went downhill.

“I went through 20 weeks and one day thinking everything was fine and then it wasn’t and I was in hospital for five days.

“With Sadie, it was 17 weeks when she was born and the day before my waters had just went and that was it.”

After Huxley and Sadie’s stillbirths, Simba created memory boxes for Jade and Aidan to keep, which contained items to remind them of their children.

They also provided a special room at the hospital which they could use to spend time with their babies.

Jade added: “It’s a lot to put on you, you don’t know anything or expect this, but once I was home and I sat down and went through the box it was such a lovely thing to be able to have, and I have it forever.

“The memories in your mind will fade but you always have what’s in the box.

“If it wasn’t for Simba me and my partner wouldn’t have anything, we would have pictures of our babies on our phone but there wouldn’t be anything else.

“You don’t have to think about ‘what if I don’t have this’ or ‘what if I don’t have that’, at the hospital they do it all for you and you get your box with all your memories in it.”

Earlier this year Jade and her loved ones marked Huxley’s first birthday by releasing balloons and has recently marked Sadie’s birthday with a fundraiser for Simba which she organised in Greenock’s Cruden Hall with her pal Ashleigh Lynch.

(Image: George Munro)

She hopes to continue supporting the charity and spreading awareness about their work in the future.

She said: “If you’ve not experienced this you won’t understand how hard it is or what it’s like.

“You can take as many pictures as you like but it’s not the same as having, say, the wee handprints or feet.

“We got wee bears and when we having the funerals my kids had a bear with them and we had a bear with us, which gave us that connection even though they’re not here.

“It’s an extra that you get to have that they also have.

“When it happened I wouldn’t have been able to talk about this, but now I know if I don’t talk about it nobody’s going to make a change and give groups like this the funds they need to keep going.

“Simba posted online to say that they were struggling, because they pay for everything off their own back and it’s a lot of money, which is why we decided to hold a fundraiser to support them.

“They’re a charity I want to keep supporting more and more.”

Those who wish to find out more about Simba’s work or donate to the charity should visit https://simbacharity.org.uk/donate/.