#Nine4Norah

#Nine4Norah 

#Nine4Norah is a charity campaign set up in 2019 in memory of a very special baby, Norah Faith Coniam. Here is Norah's story:

Our baby girl, Norah Faith, was born on 29th May 2018, weighing 8lbs. She was just perfect; the most beautiful little dot we'd ever laid eyes on, it was love at first sight!

Unfortunately, our brief moment of ecstasy soon turned into a nightmare as Norah showed no signs of life and didn't breathe for the first 18 minutes of her life. She was whisked off to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where doctors tried relentlessly to find any sign of hope that Norah would improve. But it was not to be.

After just 9 hours and 56 minutes with us, Norah spread her wings and joined the other angels in the sky. Her last 30 minutes were the most precious of our lives - my wife and I having cuddles with her, with no machines or wires keeping her alive. I will never forget how beautifully calm and peaceful those minutes were, just the 3 of us, even though we knew they would be our first and last with Norah alive in our arms.

In the weeks and months after Norah's death we have been supported by many wonderful friends and family, but also by charities such as SANDS, 4Louis, Iolanthe Midwifery & Keech Hospice and others who are doing an amazing job at supporting families dealing with the loss of a child and also providing research to try and prevent this happening to others. All money raised will be split between these charities.

In 2019 Norah's Dad, Ross proudly completed 9 challenges. These Challenges included Marathons, 100km walks and other physical events. He also took part in Movember, raising money for MIND Charity.

On October 13th, 2019 we held a Finale Celebration Day at The Herts FA County ground, Letchworth. With over 300 in attendance, it was the perfect way to bring people together and round off the campaign for 2019.

On April 7th whilst attending the Watford v Wolves FA Cup Semi-Final, BT Sport Presenter Jake Humphrey randomly spotted me in the crowd, wearing my campaign hoodie.

Jake took the time out to visit this website, have a read through & shed a tear while reading our story. 

He then took it upon himself to post a few tweets on Twitter and thanks to this our fundraising total went through the roof, rising from £3,000 to £27,000 overnight!!

For this total act of selflessness & kindness, I will be forever indebted to Jake. The platform his tweets have provided me with I have not taken for granted and I will use this to campaign further to help others.

So, WHAT'S NEXT?

In 2023 I plan to continue growing our campaign, raising more awareness and funds for charity.

I currently have 2 physical challenges booked:

June 23rd-25th: Endure 24 in Leeds

A big passion for the coming year is to continue building the Men’s support network, called #DadsandLads. The idea behind this is to have a meet-up & WhatsApp group focused on Dads that have lost children, but also any man suffering from mental health issues.

Since losing Norah it has come apparent that there is not enough support out there for Fathers. This will be a peer-to-peer group rather than a professional one. (to start with anyway)

A place where Dads/Men can chat (if they want) and be free to open up and not be judged.

We have now launched our website: www.nine4norah.co.uk