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Rebecca Adlington marks one year since losing 'angel' daughter Harper in devastating miscarriage with a heartbreaking poem written by husband Andrew Parsons Have YOU got a story? Email [email protected] If you have been affected by this story, you can seek advice at www.miscarriageassociation.
org.uk or by calling 01924 200 799 By Geraint Llewellyn For Mailonline Published: 18:40 EDT, 20 October 2024 | Updated: 18:40 EDT, 20 October 2024 e-mail 8 shares View comments Rebecca Adlington marked one year since losing daughter Harper in a devastating miscarriage with a poem written by husband Andrew Parsons on Sunday. The Olympic medalist, 35, said that while her family talk about the little one 'every single day' she had 'battled' with how to best honour the heartbreaking anniversary.
Rebecca and husband Andrew are already parents to son Albie, three, and the swimmer's daughter Summer, nine, from a previous relationship. The athlete shared photos of a tree buried in Harper's honour as well as a candle which read: 'Harper, always in our hearts you are our shining star and guiding angel'. The heartbreaking poem read: 'Harper Parsons I'd dreamt about you for a long, long time, My own little girl and one to call mine, You'd have my blue eyes and your mum's blonde hair, And for sure you'd be sporty with so much flare, Full of your mum's drive and my humour, Or maybe you would be our late bloomer'.
Rebecca Adlington marked one year since losing daughter Harper in a devastating miscarriage with a poem written by husband Andrew Parsons on Sunday (pictured with son Albie, three and daughter Summer, nine last year) The Olympic medalist, 35, said that while her family talk about the little one 'every single day' she had 'battled' with how to best honour the heartbreaking anniversary Rebecca and husband Andrew are already parents to son Albie, three, and the swimmer's daughter Summer, nine, from a previous relationship (pictured 2023) 'Then one day in October it all changed, And we had to rethink what we thought was arranged, Being told that our Angel had fallen asleep, It was devastating news and one that scarred so deep'. It continued: 'Thoughts of holding your hand on walks in the rain, Never did I think these dreams would bring so much pain, I know I'll never get to know you or be your dad, But not a day goes by without that making me sad'. 'The plans we made to make our family a five, Never with any doubt that you wouldn't thrive, I'm sorry we weren't ever able to make you smile, I'm sorry you've been on your own all this while, Never being able to watch you grow, And never seeing your infectious smile make a room glow, Never being able to see your first dance, Because in all honesty you were never given a chance.
'I never got to hear your beautiful voice, I'd swap with you in a heartbeat if given the choice, You've made my love grow deeper than I possibly knew, How can something so small make me see things in a better view'. 'Our little miracle after so much pain, Now it feels like there is just constant rain, The best little sister that there could possibly be, But now it's time that we must set you free, Up into heaven you surely must be,' 'Being cared for by loved ones we long to see, Hopefully you are all dancing with so much glee, Having a good old party is a guarantee. Knowing you are not alone fills my heart with love, Whenever I look up to the sky l'll look out for your dove, You are a part of me and I'm a part of you,' 'The love we had for you, if only you knew, It's been hard to keep it together but I know I must be strong, Strong for you and strong for us even though it all feels so wrong, Nobody will ever take your place, We'll meet again one day and have an endless embrace, I will never forget you or your beautiful name, Harper, you will always hold my flame'.
Rebecca later captioned the post: 'Happy birthday to our sleeping angel. We have thought about our baby girl every single day. Harper is a part of our family and part of our lives always'.
The athlete shared photos of a tree buried in Harper's honour as well as a candle which read: 'Harper, always in our hearts you are our shining star and guiding angel' The poem read: 'Harper Parsons I'd dreamt about you for a long, long time, My own little girl and one to call mine' She also posted a sweet illustrations with all the her children's names Rebecca later captioned the post: 'Happy birthday to our sleeping angel. We have thought about our baby girl every single day. Harper is a part of our family and part of our lives always'.
'We speak about her all the time and Summer & Albie do too. We didn’t get to have memories with her but we little things throughout our home to have her love with us forever'. She continued: 'I’ve battled with what we should do today as a family.
How we honour her, how we have a day full of love, how we mark this anniversary. The truth is there is no right or wrong'. Read More Rebecca Adlington recounts harrowing miscarriage 'with no symptoms or explanation' on Loose Women - and admits she couldn't stop blaming herself 'Thank you to everyone for the messages.
I know it’s not easy to talk about but people don’t realise how a simple 3 words like ‘thinking of you’ means the world. If anyone is reading this that knows someone going through something, I would encourage those 3 words'. 'A huge thank you to @petalscharity, the counselling has been a lifeline and so fundamental to us.
It meant the world to check in and have a session this week too'. Last month Rebecca opened up about her miscarriage on Loose Women and admitted she couldn't stop blaming herself for the tragedy but is glad she spoke openly about her grief. She revealed: 'I think with my latest miscarriage with Harper last year, I was 20 weeks pregnant, I couldn't just go from having this big bump, and I'd revealed my pregnancy to almost "oh where's the baby and why hasn't she got a bump anymore"' She added: 'It would've caused too much speculation and too many questions.
' 'So I kind of was forced to, I've learnt my lesson, but it was one of those, I didn't have a choice but to kind of announce it.' She admitted: 'And actually I'm really pleased I did, because I think it's helped a lot of women.' If you have been affected by this story, you can seek advice at www.
miscarriageassociation.org.uk or by calling 01924 200 799 Share or comment on this article: Rebecca Adlington marks one year since losing 'angel' daughter Harper in devastating miscarriage with a heartbreaking poem written by husband Andrew Parsons e-mail 8 shares Add comment.
