Any parent who has lost a child, regardless of the situation; miscarriage, stillbirth, infant, young or adult child death, will tell you that the physical ache in your heart never goes away. You learn to live with it, or should I say, keeping busy in life dulls it.  Sometimes when you stop and think the pain can be overwhelming, so much so, that it can sweep you into a very dark place, if you let it…

Partially, The Alexa Trust has been my saving grace, not only keeping Alexas memory alive but also allowing me to hope that in my own way, I can give every ounce of love and care I have for Alexa to others.

Before Alexa was born, I’ve heard of premature babies but never neonatal units. Regardless of this everyday 1000s of mums and dads spend time with their babies in Neonatal. So much so that now everybody knows somebody who has spend time in Neonatal.  Shockingly statistics shows that premature birth is on the rise.

Sometimes I get frustrated that I cannot do more. My mum said something the other day that really got me back on track… “Remember The Alexa Trust was only born last year, it’s in it’s crawling stage, very soon it will be walking and we are all waiting for this day with excitement” (directly translated from Afrikaans)…

The Alexa Trust was set up purely to support parents in Neonatal, through fundraising, education and creating awareness.  Every penny raised will do just that.

I ask of you, as a parent, to put yourself into neonatal parents’ shoes. Having to care for, sometimes very small or very sick, vulnerable babies. Parents who have the same multitude of wishes for their child as any other parent. But at the same time having to cope with a roller coaster ride of emotions. Will my baby live or will my baby die, this balance changing every second of every day for sometimes months on end.  Luckily with improved technology and better understanding/ knowledge, most babies survive, which offcourse is a true blessing.

Life is a miracle and the birth of should be a joyous time. Let’s together support parents in neonatal. It matters a great deal!

With Love, Esmari

Please contact The Alexa Trust to find out how you can get involved. We have a Facebook page @ALEXA1168705 or email fundraising@thealexatrust.org