Bolton police officers are running a 5K together to honour an officer’s baby who was stillborn last year.
PC Kristina Laundon wants to keep her son Austin Nicholas Raymond’s memory alive for the anniversary of his death by donating a cold cot to a charity which gave her one when she wanted to spend some precious time with the infant.
The run will take place next weekend on October 21 to honour Austin, who died on November 11 in 2022.
PC Laundon spoke about the tragedy of losing Austin at 17 weeks into her pregnancy and how the charity Abigail’s Footsteps helped her.
PC Kristina Laundon wants to keep her son Austin Nicholas Raymond’s memory alive
She said: “When we lost Austin, we asked if we could have something that would keep him cold, and a cold cot was donated in memory of a little girl, so that gave us 24 hours with him.
“We took photos, and he was blessed, family got to visit, and we took handprints and footprints.
“It gave us the time we needed.”
A cold cot is used to preserve stillborn babies so that their families can spend more time with them.
To thank the charity, PC Laundon donated a cold cot back to help another family going through the same thing.
She said: “It would have been a year now and for his first birthday we really wanted to do something.
“I was very fortunate the cold cot was there, and he was still in a decent state, but some mums are in operations and by the time they can see their baby, there is not enough time and they do not look the way they should.
“After going through it myself, I cannot imagine not having had that time with Austin.”
PC Laundon describes 2022 as the ‘year from hell’ as she grieved the loss of Austin.
She said: “There is no book on how to get over baby or loss, or anything on how to grieve, so to be able to give somebody else that time with their baby is just so important to us.
“The cold cot we first donated keeps his memory alive as well.”
PC Laundon hates running, but the run will help to fund another cold cot to help more families at Royal Bolton Hospital.
To donate to the page, visit the website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here