Two parents in the UK have shared their heartbreaking story after spending 16 days with their dead baby girl in an experience that they claim helped them grieve.
Twenty-one-year-old Charlotte Szakacs and her 28-year-old husband Attila were given the shocking news their baby girl Evlyn had a debilitating chromosome abnormality after a 20-week scan in September 2016.
Evlyn lived four weeks after her birth on December 13. She was born with an underdeveloped brain, narrow airways in her nose and lungs, and a narrow aorta.
She passed away in the arms of Charlotte and Attila at Martin House Hospice in Wetherby, Yorkshire, on January 10.
Evlyn was kept in a refrigerated ‘cuddle cot’ at the hospice where she died at four weeks, allowing her parents to come to grips with their loss. The family from York even took her out for walks in her stroller.
They spent 12 days at the hospice with her and four days at home where she slept in the cot in their room before her January 26 funeral.
Charlotte said having that time with Evlyn made a difference for her emotionally.
“I was really nervous about bringing her home because I didn’t know if it would feel right, but it was so nice to have her there,” she said. “And it wasn’t just for us but for Evlyn so she got to come home.”
Charlotte did not get to see her for 7 hours after Evlyn was born – or hold her for 3 days. “We got to hold her and cuddle her properly for the first time for an hour before they turned off the ventilator,” Charlotte said.
