Peer Support

Peer Support Team

• Meet
  Heather

  Heather Taylor
  Heather Taylor

  Head of Support Services

  • heather@heldinourhearts.org.uk

  My precious daughter Eilidh was stillborn at 32 weeks in April 1996 and Held In Our Hearts was a huge help to me.  I always wanted to give back to the charity and started as a volunteer, before becoming a Peer Support Worker, then Bereavement Co-ordinator and now Head of Support Services.  I feel privileged to work for such an amazing charity, where our values of Empathy, Connection and Love are shown daily, not only to the families we support but to staff and volunteers too.   Bereavement care and support have come such a long way since I lost my daughter and I hope we can continue to improve and be the light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

• Meet
  Gemma

  Gemma Brady
  Gemma Brady

  Bereavement Support Lead and Volunteer Coordinator

  • gemma@heldinourhearts.org.uk

  I’m a mum to three girls, my firstborn Tilly was born with a diaphragmatic hernia and died of an infection at twenty five days old. 

  Losing a child for me was a such a lonely place to be, everyone’s life was able to move on but mine couldn’t and all I wanted was to talk about Tilly, she wasn’t my guilty secret she was my daughter and I was her mummy. 

  I met the lovely Nicola at Held in our hearts six months after my loss by chance and had a peer support session - to hear another bereaved parent tell me they had felt what I felt made my feelings normal in my head, and we kept in contact over the years. 

  When I later took voluntary redundancy, I was approached by Nicola to come onboard, the timing was right for us both, so here I am. 

  Listening to parents talk about their babies with such love is one of the most special parts of my work, pure and raw but love at its best. 

  I am a Peer Supporter as well as doing a volunteer co-ordinator role. 

• Meet
  Vikki

  Vikki Anderson
  Vikki Anderson

  Peer Supporter

  • vikki@heldinourhearts.org.uk

  My name is Vikki and I first got in touch with Held In Our Hearts in 2016.
  Two days before our wedding day we were told the words during a routine scan that no expectant mother wants to hear, "I'm so sorry". Our baby girl, Angelica, had a condition called anencephaly which, unfortunately, is incompatible with life. One week after hearing those words, our little girl was born.
  I had no idea just how difficult the next steps in my journey were going to be, but due to go back to work in the coming weeks, working on the same maternity ward I delivered Angelica on, I needed to talk to someone who understood. And Held In Our Hearts came into my life.
  I got in touch with the charity and was supported by the wonderful Nicola. The compassion and empathy she had was a massive part of helping me on my journey.
  Since that moment, I always knew I wanted to give back to this amazing charity. December of 2020 was when I got back in touch to see what I could do to help. I started peer supporting in 2021 and became part of the team in June. It really is the most amazing work this charity provides and I feel so privileged to be a part of it.

• Meet
  Lindsay

  Lindsay Donaldson
  Lindsay Donaldson

  Peer Support and Hospital Liaison - Highlands

  • lindsay@heldinourhearts.org.uk

  Nothing could have prepared me for losing my son, Hunter, in July 2013. I lost him quite suddenly 18 weeks into my first pregnancy. I had never experienced grief like it and felt so alone. When my husband found Held In Our Hearts it was amazing to finally feel safe and understood.
  
  Unfortunately, on Mother's Day 2015, at 22 weeks pregnant I lost our daughter, Esmae. Once again the charity supported us in ways others could not.
  
  We remained hopeful, but in October 2015, a scan showed our daughter, Freya, had anencephaly, a condition incompatible with life and we had to make the heart-breaking decision to terminate. Whilst grief and loss were familiar, experiencing a TFMR was new territory, but Held In Our Hearts understood and thankfully had already been supporting us throughout the pregnancy.  
  
  The following year, after a second early loss, I became pregnant for the sixth time and in April 2017, after a lot of amazing care, including counselling sessions and support from Held In Our Hearts, I gave birth to Iris...and we brought her home.
  
  After having Iris I decided not go back to my job as a Media Sales Manager for a national newspaper publisher and became a stay at home mum. It was so lovely to have the chance to spend precious time with her before she started school. In 2021 my wee family moved from Edinburgh back to my hometown of Inverness and I jumped at the chance to be part of Held In Our Hearts’ expansion to the Highlands. I did my peer supporter training and it just felt right.
  
  It's such a privilege to be a Peer Supporter here in the Highlands. I know the difference it can make to speak someone who understands the heartache of losing a precious baby.  I hope I can help ease the feelings of loneliness and isolation.

• Meet
  Amy

  Amy Johnston
  Amy Johnston

  Peer Supporter - Fife

  Hi, my name is Amy, and I am the Peer Support Worker for Fife. I offer support to families over the phone, online and in person, in our lovely Rainbow Room in Dalgety Bay. I will be working closely with both the Hospital to Home Worker and Counsellor for Fife, providing families the support they so desperately deserve after such devastating loss.

  I was first introduced to Held In Our Hearts back in October of 2021, after losing our baby girl Daisy. Daisy was our third baby, having two beautiful boys already we were ecstatic to be having a little girl. Losing Daisy, halfway through our pregnancy and very suddenly, completely shattered our world and I fell apart, unable to see any hope for the future. A lovely bereavement nurse from our hospital suggested that I reach out to Held In Our Hearts, and I have never been more thankful for this. I first received invaluable support from the amazing Peer Supporter Vikki and then after realizing I was suffering from complex PTSD, I moved onto the much-needed counselling service from the wonderful Ailsa.

  The charity means the absolute world to me. I know just how important it is to have someone who can truly empathize with you and how you’re feeling, there are no expectations, no judgements and the space for you to love and grieve your baby is completely safe. Held In Our Hearts understood our loss and the enormity of our grief. I found myself unable to fully express to my close family just how awful I was feeling, the pressure was overwhelming. I hated the thought of family members being upset because of me, or them worrying about me, so I was silent. The support provided me with a space where I could talk, guilt free. It then allowed me the courage to be able to share my baby and all that she means to me, and I believe this is how I was able to go on.

  Held In Our Hearts continued to support me throughout my subsequent pregnancy and in September 2023, we welcomed our much-loved Rainbow baby into the world.

  I feel so privileged to be in this position now, walking with families through their own heartbreaking loss and giving them my support, I truly understand the importance of the space provided.

  In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and catching up with friends. I love spending time outdoors, growing my own veggies and doing a bit of DIY here and there. I have an eye for detail and have a keen interest in wildlife photography.