Bereaved Maidstone father offers tattoo fundraiser for Abigail's Footsteps
06:00, 02 October 2021
A tattoo artist is to donate all the income from a day's tattooing to Abigail's Footsteps, a charity that supports bereaved parents.
Finn Guthrie, who works in Made You Look parlour in Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, has organised the tattoo "flash day" in appreciation of the charity's work, which sadly he himself had to call upon.
In October, 2019, Mr Guthrie and his partner Louise Birch lost their baby, a son they called Oscar.
He said: "Louise went in for what was meant to be a routine check-up, but was told our baby's heart had stopped and we were then booked in two days after for Oscar to be stillborn.
"It was a heartbreaking experience and without the help of Abigails Footsteps we would have only had a few hours with our first-born son.
"But because of the amazing work they do, we were put up in this wonderful suite/hotel room they’ve set up in Medway Hospital.
"And with their Cold Cot we were able to spend an extra precious couple of days with him and not just a couple hours."
A Cold Cot is especially designed with a refrigerated cooling system that allows parents to spend more time with a baby, who has tragically passed away, than would normally be possible.
Mr Guthrie planned the fund-raiser for what would have been Oscar's second birthday to help Abigails Footsteps provide a second Cold Cot.
He needed to raise £2,500, but in fact a GoFundMe appeal he is running simultaneously has been so successful, already raising more than than £2,500, that he now hopes to fund two extra Cold Cots.
Mr Guthrie and two friends will be tattooing all day on October 10 from set designs, with every penny taken going in the pot for charity.
Because of the need for social distancing, there will be timed slots. Bookings can be made via his Instagram account.
If you don't fancy a tattoo, you can just donate here.
Happily, Mr Guthrie and Miss Birch have since had a second son, Max, now aged nine months.
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