Amy Adam Adam

16 Years of Missing You 🩵

On 9th October 2026, our beautiful first-born son, Henry Adam, would have been turning 16.

16 Years of Missing You 🩵

It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed since we held our precious boy in our arms.

Henry was born weighing just 1.94lb after a catalog of failings in our medical care in the days leading up to his birth and despite the efforts of the medical team who tried for 15 minuets to save him, our beautiful boy was gone.

There are no words that can truly describe the pain of losing your child. It is a loss that changes you forever. And although the years have passed, the love we have for Henry has never faded.

16 years of missing you. 16 years of loving you. 16 years of wondering who you would have become.

Over the years, we have watched babies born smaller and earlier than Henry grow into happy, thriving children. We are genuinely so grateful and happy to see them doing so well but it can also be a painful reminder of what could have been. Of how different life should look today. 

We should be getting ready to celebrate our son’s 16th birthday, watching him grow into the young man he would have become.

Instead, we carry him with us 🩵

We have always felt that while it is important to acknowledge the pain of losing Henry, it is equally important to celebrate the love he brought into our lives. We make memories in his honour, talk about him, remember him and make sure his little sisters grow up knowing all about their big brother.

Each year, we try to celebrate his birthday in a way that we imagine we would if he were here with us.

Sadly, Henry’s story is one that far too many families know.

Every day in the UK, 13 babies die shortly before, during or soon after birth. At least 1 in 6 pregnancies end in miscarriage, meaning thousands of parents and families experience the heartbreak of pregnancy and baby loss every year.

Behind every statistic is a baby who was loved, a family whose lives were changed forever and a story that deserves to be remembered.

That is why, to mark Henry’s 16th birthday, we have decided to take part in a 10K Ribbon Run in his memory, raising money for SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society). 

SANDS supported us through the unimaginable loss of our baby boy. At a time when we felt completely lost and broken, having support from people who understood what we were going through meant more than we could ever put into words.

But SANDS does so much more than support families after baby loss. They also work to improve understanding of why babies die and help prevent future baby loss. Through research, they help build knowledge around stillbirth and neonatal death, identify where improvements can be made in maternity and neonatal care and work towards a future where fewer families have to experience the heartbreak that we know all too well.

For us, that is incredibly important.

We can never change what happened to Henry. We can never bring him home or rewrite his story. But if the money we raise can help another baby have a different outcome or help another family avoid the pain of losing their precious child, then something positive can come from the tragedy we experienced.

We run for Henry, but we also run for the babies and families who came before and who come after him.

This will actually be my first ever 10K event! Stu, on the other hand, has completed a few 10Ks already, so he has a bit more experience than me. His usual goal is to run as fast as possible but this time he has a very important new challenge…

He’s going to have to slow down and run at my pace! 😂

I’m not sure which will be harder for him: the 10K itself or resisting the temptation to sprint off without me!

But we’ll be crossing that finish line together, doing it for our beautiful boy and making another special memory in his honour. 🩵

You taught us what true love was, our precious boy and we will be forever grateful for that.

We often wonder what you would be like at 16. What music you would listen to, what your personality would be like, what you would want to do with your life. We will never know the answers but we will never stop wondering.

Until the day we get to hold you again, it is our job to keep your memory alive.

Happy 16th birthday in Heaven, our precious Henry. 🩵

We miss you always, and we will love you forever.

Lots of love,

Mummy, Daddy and your two crazy little sisters 🩵

If you would like to support Stu and I in remembering Henry and help SANDS continue supporting bereaved families, funding vital research and working towards preventing future baby loss, we would be incredibly grateful for any donation, no matter how big or small.

Thank you for helping us keep our beautiful boy’s memory alive. 🩵