23 May 2020

Twins Trust Bereavement Support group helped Sarah Miles steer through a devastating time when her daughter Eva passed away in 2011 aged just six months.

She said the support she received at that time was invaluable, and the friends she has since made within that special community, help each other at all times.

“Losing Eva unexpectedly after six months in neonatal care was excruciating.

“She had overcome so many obstacles after being born at 28 weeks with an oesophagus problem but major surgery proved too much for her. I felt numb for months but couldn’t afford to break down because I had her twin Charlotte to look after.

It’s impossible to describe the simultaneous pain and joy of bringing up a surviving twin. I felt nobody understood – until I spoke to a befriender from the Twins Trust Bereavement Group who had been through something similar. She was my lifeline.

Now Sarah, who is also mum to Charlotte, 8 (Eva’s twin) and Iris, aged 6, is running 10k to raise money for the group along with other bereaved parents and some Twins Trust staff …. but not in the usual way.

The team of will each be running 5k or 10k from their own homes after the main event at the Queen Elizabeth Park in London was cancelled due to Covid-19.

“It’s such a shame as we were all looking forward to this event and had been training hard,” said Sarah, “but we all understand why and it was Sharon, who runs the bereavement group, who thought there was still a way we could do this as we had already raised a wonderful amount of money.

“So on Saturday morning we are all starting a 10k run from our homes, setting off at 9:30am, and recorded on Strava or other apps. The race organisers have said that if we can track our run and send in our times we will still be able to receive our medals.”

Sarah added: “10k will certainly be a challenge for me as I haven’t really been into running for very long, although I had started doing the Park Runs before lockdown.

We may not be running in this fabulous area of London, but we are still taking on the challenge to remember all the babies and children multiple birth families have sadly lost.