A COUPLE have raised just over £200 for the children’s ward at Basingstoke hospital in memory of their baby girl.
Brandon and Paige Rawlings lost their baby girl Dolly-Rebecca Rawlings after she died at their home in Kingsclere on October 18, 2021 following a ‘sudden death’.
Baby Dolly was over just five weeks old and was born on September 12.
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Since then, the pair who have two other children and another one on the way, have been keeping Dolly’s memory alive and on Easter Sunday they organised a big Easter egg hunt for the entire village to enjoy.
Paige said: “The whole village know about Dolly because it’s a small village and all the neighbours and the funeral decorators live on our road. What we have wanted to do every year is do an Easter egg hunt and make it bigger and bigger.
“We wanted to raise money for the children’s ward so that all my other kids can still remember their sister, as well as everyone else in the village and as well as helping children remember her. It still makes Dolly a part of it even though she is not here.
“Everyone really enjoyed the day and said what a lovely idea it was and that we should carrying on doing it.”
Paige hopes that next year they can make the event even bigger and raise more money for the ward.
She added: “Dolly died at home but the hospital took her with me and tried to resuscitate her, but they couldn’t sadly.”
They said that by raising the money it is a way to say thank you to the hospital staff for “trying all that they could”.
Paige said: “It must be hard for them as well having to do that every day.”
Brandon said it was important for the couple to "make something special" for their children and all the other kids and to "keep Dolly’s memory alive".
Brandon said the pair who come from a gypsy community were keen to do something as a family and break the “stereotype” people might have.
The family said staying positive is “all you can do” and hope to carry on keeping Dolly's memory alive.
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