Our Story
We founded Teddy's Wish after we lost our baby to SIDS. We’ve tried to turn that devastating experience into a force for good. We are deeply committed to improving the support services that families facing baby loss so desperately need. We also fund and conduct research that will help grieving parents in their search for answers.
TURNING TRAGEDY INTO PURPOSE
We set up Teddy’s Wish to give hope, help and support to other grieving families and to fund research into the causes of baby loss. As a small, volunteer-run charity, we’re driven by doing something meaningful in Edward’s honour. Our vision is that in the future, there will be no more grieving parents of tiny, perfect babies. Together with your support and generosity, we believe that vision is achievable.
Our Baby Eddie
Our story, which is the reason we founded Teddy’s Wish, is unfortunately like so many others who have faced the shattering loss of a baby.
Our son Edward Louis Reid was born at 5am on 18 January 2014. From the moment he entered the world, he was healthy and strong.
My pregnancy, by contrast, had been difficult. Morning sickness for 17 weeks, pelvic pain and bleeding throughout were followed by a 60-hour labour. But, as I lay exhausted in the Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in London, with Edward safely in my arms, it had all been worth it.
Edward will always be the most amazing gift – the brightest light to ever shine in our lives. We felt a love for him that was purer and greater than either of us thought possible. Our desire to protect and cherish him was instant and deep-rooted.
A Shattering Loss
Tragically, three months later on 16 April 2014, Edward left us.
He was a victim of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
It was the most devastating loss imaginable.
We were left with no explanation as to why our beautiful baby son had died.
There was no attributable cause, no finger to point, no blame to apportion. And it made us feel helpless. We couldn’t help but think we had failed him in some way, no matter how unfair or untrue that was.
The search for answers began.
Edward's Legacy
We needed to understand how such a tragedy could happen and why a fit and strong baby could be taken away. But we soon discovered our questions would remain unanswered, and that made the grief so much harder to bear.
As we started to meet other families who had lost a baby in similar circumstances, we realised they were also grappling with unresolved questions.
We started to form the idea of a charity that would fund research into the causes of baby loss and provide hope for grieving families. When we said goodbye to Edward in the hospital, we vowed we would live our lives for him, just as we would if he was still with us.
We wanted to make him proud of his family and to know how much he was loved and adored.