Inverness mum raises over £50k for baby loss charity after her baby boy died in his sleep
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A mother grieving an unimaginable loss celebrated her son’s second birthday after an unexpected tragedy robbed her family of a brother and son.
Inverness mum Daisy McKenzie and her husband Eoin were delighted to welcome their newborn son, Albie, into the world on April 13, 2022.
Daisy described Albie as a ‘joy’. She said: “He was full of smiles, giggles and had eyes full of wonder. He made everything better.”
A fortnight after Albie's first birthday, the unthinkable turned the McKenzies' world upside down.
On April 27, 2023, Albie tragically died in his sleep due to sudden unexpected infant death (SUID).
Since bearing the loss of losing her youngest son, Daisy immersed herself into fundraising to keep Albie’s memory alive, in addition to raising as much funds and awareness for the baby loss charity, Held In Our Hearts.
Last weekend dozens of people from across the city of Inverness participated in a quiz night to celebrate what would have been Albie’s second birthday.
She said: “The whole evening made me feel so grateful, to Kings Smithton for allowing us to use their great venue, to the helpers and those who baked for our sale and to everyone that came along and supported us.
“This fundraiser felt very different as it’s on Albies birthday eve. We gave everyone a cupcake with the number two on it and celebrated with him together.
“It was also special to add up all the fundraising we’d done for the year and see the difference Albie’s made to Held in our Hearts and other grieving families.”
The quiz night alone raised an incredible £1256, to which Daisy was ‘thrilled’ with. This year Daisy and her family have raised an astonishing £52460 for Held In Our Hearts and presented the cheque at the end of the quiz with the grand total.
Daisy celebrated Albie’s second birthday the day after the quiz night and felt an immense sense of grief all over again.
She said: “To be honest it was a very difficult day. We had a very quiet day at home, just me, Eoin and the boys.
“It didn’t feel right as birthdays are meant to be fun and chaotic but it couldn’t be as the birthday boy was missing.
“At night our family came over and we went to see the lights on the bridge which was the most special thing. We dropped daffodils in the water and sent him a birthday wish.”
When talking about how she felt on the day of Albie’s birthday she said: “I felt sad, scared and anxious. I don’t know why, it was all just a bit overwhelming but seeing the bridge helped a lot as it made me feel very close to Albie and I was surrounded by love.”
With the money raised from Daisy’s hard work fundraising this year, she has designed a beautiful bench for people to sit on and have a moment of reflection. She is also keen to purchase some soft blankets and books for the childrens ward at Raigmore Hospital.
Daisy plans to continue her work alongside the charity to raise awareness for its cause.
She said: “I hope I can start to make a difference in raising awareness and pushing research of sudden unexplained death in children so hopefully less families have to go through the same.”
