Shooting Star Chase

Shooting Star Chase is a leading children’s hospice charity caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families. Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, its aim is to make every moment count. The charity supports families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.

At 12pm I took this photo after Sophie and I threw some bread out for the birds.  She loves to watch them all swoop in and we usually end up with at least 15 birds at a time all flying around and showing off.  Liam is at school so he didn't get to see it but we will no doubt throw some more out later for them.

We are so lucky to have two healthy children but sadly for some parents this is not the case.  Shooting Star Chase is a hospice for children who have various life limiting and terminal conditions.  They help support from babies up to 21 year old, their families and carers too.  

It provides bespoke support free of charge to families, 365 days a year. The charity’s care service includes short breaks at two hospices (Shooting Star House in Hampton and Christopher’s in Guildford), Hospice at Home, day care, symptom management, end-of-life care, bereavement care and a comprehensive range of therapies and support groups for the whole family.

The charity are running their 3rd Sunrise Walk to raise funds.  There are 3 routes to choose from and everyone will set off at 4.30am on 31st May at Ham House in Richmond.   Sunrise Walk has so far attracted over 500 walkers who have raised an impressive £85,000. For 2015 they are looking for 300 walkers and aim to raise over £40,000.

The main 20km route will remain the same as previous years, and there is now a shorter 10km route and a longer 30km route

If you want to take part in raising funds for this amazing charity you can sign up to the walk here and to find out more about the work they do you will find their website here

Heather Tilley.
Heather Tilley is a Family Support and Bereavement Counsellor for Shooting Star Chase, a leading children’s hospice charity caring for children in London and Surrey. She has over a decade of experience helping families accept and cope with the diagnosis of a child with a life limiting condition.

To lose a child is devastating. Nothing can prepare you and life will never be the same afterwards.

My job is to help the families of children with life limiting conditions navigate from having to manage the news of the diagnosis through to life after loss. The impact on families can be devastating. All their plans and assumptions for the future are shattered. One thing I often hear from parents is that things are in ‘the wrong order’ if their child dies before them. They carry a huge burden of guilt alongside their grief.

As time passes it can be helpful to find new ways to remember. Our Sunrise Walk is a poignant, but positive way to commemorate a child who has died, whilst making a difference. By taking part, you can help raise much-needed funds for the charity to continue providing a lifeline for other parents who are learning to live alongside the loss of a child.