In memory of Conner Isaac Datson

On October 6th, Conner would be turning five.

I carried him for 22 weeks in 2021, before complications meant I had to say goodbye to him far too soon. It was the hardest thing I have ever lived through, and it changed me completely.

What came after was its own kind of unraveling. My body didn't understand what my heart already knew, it kept preparing to mother a baby who wasn't coming home. And underneath all of that was grief so enormous I didn't know how to carry it, let alone carry myself through each day.

I honestly don't know where I'd be without Red Nose. Their Hospital to Home program met me in those first raw days when I couldn't think straight, let alone ask for help. And the counselling that followed gave me somewhere to put the parts of this grief that had nowhere else to go, somewhere that didn't ask me to explain or justify or hurry up and heal.

Why Red Nose matters

Red Nose is one of the only organisations in Australia offering genuine, free, 24/7 support to families after the death of a baby or child. There is no waitlist when you call them at 2am because you can't breathe through the grief. There is no cost when you need a counsellor who actually understands stillbirth, miscarriage, or infant loss. There is no expiry date on how long they'll walk with you.

That kind of care doesn't exist by accident, it exists because it's funded, entirely, by people like you.

Where your donation goes

Every dollar helps fund:

• The 24/7 support line, staffed by people trained specifically in bereavement — often the first voice a family hears in their darkest hour
• Hospital to Home support, helping families navigate the impossible days right after loss, before they've even left the hospital
• Free bereavement counselling, for as long as it's needed — not capped at a handful of sessions
• Support groups and remembrance activities, so no family has to carry this alone or in silence

Five years on, I still think of Conner every single day. On what should be his 5th birthday this October, this fundraiser is my way of honouring him. Making sure another family, on the worst day of their lives, has somewhere free, immediate, and judgement-free to turn.

If you're able to give today, you're not just donating to a charity,  you're making sure no parent has to survive this alone.

Thank you for celebrating Conner with me.