One More Minute

Recently a campaign which you may have seen if you watch the TV is a campaign called one more minute. This is a campaign which is running at the moment by Child Bereavement UK. Child Bereavement UK is a national charity which supports families and provides training for professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement.. Speaking about bereavement is something which people struggle with more so when it involves children we forget that they can feel pain and understand what is going on. 

According to Child Bereavement UK 1 in 29 schoolchildren has been bereaved of a parent or sibling – that’s a child in every class this is a statistic which I found shocking I didn't personally realise that it would be as high as it is. A parent of an under 18 dies every 22 minutes meaning that there are 111 a day with 23,600 a year. I know that am lucky that I have not had to go through the death of a parent or a sibling.  Of these case 6000 families are affected by suicide every single year this must leave children as well as adults with a lot of unanswered questions. 

22% of British Adults say that they felt lonely after the death of a close family member and wish that they had more support. If this is the case for adults how high is the rate of children feeling lonely.  This charity allow these children to have someone to speak to so that they know that they are not alone which I think is amazing because we all know how much just having someone to speak to can help with a problem. 

It is not only children who can feel the pain of bereavement more than 10,000 young people up to the age of 25 pass away a year that is 28 a day.  The pain is still great for an adult even more so if it is one of your own children who passes away as you think deep down that you should go before them. 

The campaign shows a series of contributors talking about what they would say if they had one more minute with their special person who has died, and includes an 11- year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl, a widowed parent, and a bereaved couple. It also includes bereaved celebrity friends of the charity including its Patrons Mary Berry and Rio Ferdinand. 

This campaign made me think that because we never know when it is going to be our last moment and when time is going to be up. What I would say should I know that I was going to have one final conversation I know this is something which we do not want to usually think about because we do not want to admit that one day people are not going to be around. 

I have chosen to share what my final words to my mum would be I know because I have had had this conversation with my Mum. She through that after I had Jess and had some very severe complications which saw me pass out and she thought that she was actually going to lose me that night. This is something which she has since admitted to me. I would love to say to her Thank you so much for everything which you have done for me since the day that I was born without you I would not have managed to become the person I have today, I would not have been able to study at university without you because you are the one who has always kept me on track. You took me to open days and you was there the moment when my life changed forever. Without you I don't know if I would even be alive today. I hope I make you proud every single day even though we have disagreements about things from time to time. I want you to know that I would not be without you. 

You can find out more about the one more minute campaign and child bereavement UK on their website here

If you had one more moment with a relative who has passed away for if you knew your final moment what would you say?

Charlotte x