WATCH: Baby rock and roll sensory session held in tribute of Inverness baby who tragically died in his sleep
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A mother grieving an unimaginable loss is determined to shine some light for her 'angel above' after an unexpected tragedy robbed her family of a brother and son.
Inverness mum Daisy McKenzie and husband Eoin were delighted to welcome their newborn son, Albie, into the world on April 13 last year.
From the moment Albie was born, he became the family's pride and joy as he managed to light up every room he went into.
Daisy described Albie as a 'happy little boy' that enjoyed spending time with his brothers and making everyone laugh.
A fortnight after Albie's first birthday, the unthinkable turned the McKenzies world upside down.
Daisy said: "On Thursday, April 27, we picked Albie up from nursery where he was cutely waving at us from the play-dough table. When we took him home he was quite tired from being at nursery all day, so I took him up to my bed at around 6.30pm.
"His dad was tickling him on his nose and tummy which just made wee Albie laugh so much. He was so happy when he fell asleep and then the next thing I knew it was the morning and I just remember waking up to feeling Albie cold."
She continued: "I quickly woke up to realise what was going on and called the ambulance. The rest is a blur."
A few weeks after Albie's death, the family were told that their little boy had sadly died from sudden unexpected infant death (SUID).
She said: "A hole has been left, that hasn't been filled and I don't think it ever will be filled because Albie is gone."
Since losing Albie, the family have become determined not to let themselves be paralysed by grief and, in an act of astonishing generosity aimed at helping others like them, have embarked on a major awareness drive on behalf of the charity that is now supporting them through the worst time imaginable.
In aid of this, Daisy teamed up with baby loss charity, Held In Our Hearts, to host a rock and roll themed baby sensory session in tribute to her little boy.
Baby sensory is any activity that stimulates any of the five senses through play. These activities are designed to stimulate baby's touch, smell, taste, sight or hearing and can be introduced from birth
She said: "Albie went to baby sensory since he was three weeks old and he graduated from it when he turned one, so this was a really special event and one I know Albie would have loved.
"We had around 40 babies in total who came along to the Culduthel Christian Church where they were playing instruments, having fun with inflatables and listening music."
The event raised £580 pounds for Held In Our Hearts who help bereaving families tackle the unimaginable loss of a child through various community building events, counselling and peer support.
Daisy continued: "It was so special to see the event come together. To be honest I felt a little sad at first because it was the first time I had been in the Church since we went to baby sensory there with Albie so it was strange to go back to a session without him, however it was so nice to see people come together for him and have a good time in his memory.
"It's so important for me to have Albie remembered and for him to be remembered with a smile, as I know this would have been something he'd enjoy."
