In memory of Callum 

Nick Cliff organised a Mile in Memory walk for Save a Baby Month 2008 in memory of his son Callum.

Callum was born on the 19th of November 2004 via caesarean section due to my partner Lynne having pre-eclampsia at 27 weeks. Callum was on oxygen for only two days. He did well from then on – he was our little fighter. 

Lynne's family and I visited Callum in the neonatal unit at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham. Lynne didn't want to see him but after a couple of days went to see him in her bed. Lynne was let out of hospital after seven days, and for the next seven weeks we were going back and forth to the hospital.

After a few weeks we were invited to a meeting so they could show us what to do in an emergency. We were told that premature babies and boys are prone to sudden infant death but we didn't think anything of it.

After eight weeks Callum was allowed home. Lynne's other children Claire and Abbie were over the moon. They helped to get clothes, nappies and wipes for us at feeding time. 

His eyes were never to open again

Then seven weeks after coming home, I had Callum in bed for the first time with me. Normally Lynne stayed in bed but this day I did. I picked him up and he smiled at me, opened his eyes, then closed them and they were never to open again.

I went downstairs and told Lynne I was not happy because he had gone limp. I called the emergency doctor but by the time they got back to me, Lynne was on the phone to the emergency services. They told us what to do and we tried to resuscitate him.

Not long after the paramedics arrived, the doctor rushed in and took over. The doctor told us it didn't look good and the paramedics were going to rush Callum to the Queens Medical Centre. The doctor took Lynne and me there, and we arrived before the ambulance. They worked on Callum for 45 minutes, but on the 10th of March 2005 at 15 weeks old, hewas pronounced dead. 

We knew we had done nothing wrong

We were told that the police needed to talk to us. The house was partitioned off and no one, not even us, was allowed in the house until the forensics team was ready to come over. When we were finally allowed in the house, we were questioned about where Callum slept and whether there were any drugs in the house. 

They took photos in every room of the house, and bedding and clothes were taken. We felt like criminals but we knew we had done nothing wrong. One of my friends thought we had been busted for drugs but was shocked when he found out the truth.

The nurses in the neonatal unit, our neighbours and the health visitors were upset. But, most of all, it hurt us and Lynne's family, especially Lynne's mum. Callum was her little miracle baby and it hit her hard. It still upsets her when she goes to the grave to put flowers on it. 

We have tried to help to give other babies all round the world a longer life

We were put in touch with FSID and told what they were about. They sent us information about what they offer. We have tried to help them when we can so that they can help to give other babies all round the world a longer life and we hope to continue to help them in the future.

It took over a year to get the post mortem report. It said sudden infant death, but it also said there were traces of MRSA, pneumonia and bronchitis. We went to see the coroner who said these traces were found after he died. The doctor from the hospital said the traces of MRSA suggested that Callum may have been fighting it when he died.