Melton mother raises funds in daughter’s memory

A mother who is terrified of heights abseiled 212 feet this weekend in memory of her baby, Luna, who died in November 2022 at 10-months-old.

Claire Fox completed our Derby Abseil and raised £760 for Rainbows, a place that provided her, and Luna, with support and care at their toughest times.

“Luna really was amazing with everything she overcame in her little life,” said Claire, of Melton. “She was a little warrior. I hate heights, that is hell for me. But if Luna could be that strong, then so could I. She has given me strength to do things in life.

“The abseil was scary, I didn’t realise how high it was till I saw the Cathedral. I didn’t think I was going to do it, but I just thought of Luna and how brave she was in her life and how I was abseiling in memory of her. I just wanted her to look down and be proud of me.”

Luna Hope Abbot was born at 26-weeks-old and developed a life-threatening bowel condition. Weighing a tiny 1lb and 11oz, Luna was faced with major surgery. “We didn’t know if Luna was going to make it,” said Claire. “But she aced it. She had to have a little stoma bag and that was really difficult to deal with. It was so hard to see a little baby with a stoma bag. Thankfully this was reversed a few months later.

“Luna overcame it so well but shortly after she developed sepsis, and she took a bit longer to overcome that. She gained a lot of fluid and doubled in size.

“We spent weeks and weeks trying to get rid of the fluid and the sepsis. The problem we had was Luna would spend a short time being well and a long time being unwell.

“We just didn’t know anything or what was wrong with Luna for about three months – just that she was very poorly.”

A scan revealed Luna had Pulmonary Vein Stenosis, a rare condition in which the veins that carry blood from the lungs back to the heart are narrowed.

Claire was told it was extremely rare and there was no cure. “We were told they weren’t sure how long we had left, and it would be a case of see how Luna would cope,” she said.

“We met two of the Rainbows Nurses when we were in hospital and when Luna got her diagnosis, Rainbows was mentioned again.”

In July 2022, Claire had to make the traumatic decision to put a DNAR in place. The plan was for Luna come to our hospice on a ventilator, which would then be turned off and end-of-life care to be given.

“Luna needed the chance to show me when she was ready to die,” said Claire. “We got to Rainbows in the August and she came off the ventilator and did really well.

“Rainbows was absolutely amazing. We had spent so long in hospital and hadn’t got to do anything; it was all about medical care.

“At Rainbows, we made lots of memories, we played in the Multisensory Room, we played in Soft Play and we had massages. We also made casts of Luna’s hands and feet for keepsakes.

“We even went swimming in the Hydrotherapy Pool, which is something I never thought we would be able to do. We were just living every day like a normal family, doing very normal things.

“After spending eight weeks at Rainbows, we were told we could go home and I was so shocked. One of the Rainbows team came with us to help us settle in. We visited Rainbows every week and had fantastic support from them.

“I always said to myself, I would be led by Luna, and I would like her to pass away at Rainbows as it felt right on so many levels. Rainbows has the most amazing people who I knew would be there to support us.

“One day, at Rainbows, Luna wasn’t herself and was quite floppy. She was given pain relief, and she passed away in my arms.

“After that, Rainbows still cared for us. I spent so much time with Luna, right up until her funeral as she was in a special Cuddle Cot. I could take all the time I needed with her, and I was given the time I needed to get my head around it all.

“Everything that Rainbows did for Luna and me was critical to my grieving process. I don’t know how I would have got through that if I couldn’t have been with her every day.

“I feel lucky we had a place like Rainbows to go to. Without Rainbows, I wouldn’t have had two months of memories. We went to the seaside and Rainbows was very encouraging of that. We watched fireworks and she dressed as a pumpkin at Halloween.

Claire has vowed to raise money for Rainbows for the rest of her life. On Saturday, she climbed 189 steps to the top of the tallest building in Derby, and abseiled down 212 feet.

“The Abseil was completely out of my comfort zone and I was so scared but I was also so proud and know Luna would be proud,” said Claire. “I wanted to honour her memory and help Rainbows.

“Walking into Rainbows was a breath of fresh air. We could do all of the things that every parent should be able to do with their child.”

To support Claire’s fundraising, visit: here