To explain why the ride is important to me and other families that have lost a child I want to share a personal story about a Sydney 2 CAMberra ride I shared with Aaron and Cameron a couple of years ago. Cameron is Graham and Nadine’s little boy who was stillborn 39 weeks into Nadine’s pregnancy in 2011. Aaron is Nadine’s brother and Cameron’s uncle. The Sydney 2 CAMberra ride was named after Cameron.

As you would know,  there are a few kilometres between Sydney and Canberra (over 300 in fact) and in 2017 Aaron embarked on the ride a little bit underdone in the training department. To be perfectly honest, Aaron hadn’t done much training at all. You could probably imagine how Aaron’s body hurt during the ride that year.

At one stage, after having already ridden over 100km of the 180km on day one, Aaron and I hit one of the many hills between Sydney and Canberra. At this point Aaron was hurting. Really hurting. Aaron told me he was going to have to stop and get on the bus. “I can’t take it anymore”  he told me. I remember trying to do everything possible to motivate Aaron and to help him get to the top of the hill but nothing worked until I mentioned these words to him.

“Cameron would be so proud of his uncle!”

At the mere mention of his little nephew, even though he was in immense pain, Aaron remembered why he was there and dug deep, so deep in fact that he didn’t just make up the hill, he accelerated to the top and overtook the other riders on the way up. I am still so inspired by what Aaron and Cameron achieved together on that day that I still get tears in my eyes and goose bumps when I recount the story.

Since the death of Aidan, I have had many of my own experiences like Aaron’s. It hurts immensely at the time but sacrificing myself or doing something for Aidan, both on and off the bike, provides so much healing for my broken heart and my mental health. That is just one reason why the ride is so important to me and others.

Another very important reason for participating in the ride is because I want to repay the support that was provided to my family in what will always be our darkest moments in life. After the loss of a child your life becomes an absolute mess and, regardless of how resilient people might think we are, we would never have pulled through if our friends, families and communities did not rally around us. Participating in the ride allows me to pay back the immense support Gillian, Samuel and I received after Aidan’s death. Participation allows us to be there for other riders that need help on their journey and allows us to raise funds for the services needed to support other families not on the ride that are struggling to piece together their lives after losing a child.

If you are willing, I would like to ask for your support by making a tax deductible donation. In doing so you will be helping to support the bereavement services and the prevention research and education provided by Red Nose Australia and the Stillbirth Foundation.

Even if you cannot donate, I want to deeply thank you for reading my (long) story. It means a lot for me to be able to share Aidan and how special the ride is with you. If you are moved, I would urge you to share Aidan’s and the Sydney 2 CAMberra story with your friends and family. Also, if you would like to find out more about Aidan I have included a few links below.

Thank you so much from the depths of my healing heart,

Lucas & Aidan

Links:

Lessons learnt after tragic loss of 3-year-old Aidan Mara

https://www.facebook.com/SutherlandShireNews/posts/caringbah-lessons-learnt-after-tragic-loss-of-3-year-old-aidan-maravaluable-less/2003755072977226/

Death of three-year-old Aidan Mara a tragic lesson for hospital staff

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-29/aidan-mara-inquest/9925204

Aidan’s Eulogy:

https://file.heavenaddress.com/memorials/TAgDdlseL1dIL0QMCDYIVbQMKtUj0md1/media/kU7gJdP7DOV1NTZaWnpWVxnrVUvmREOQ.pdf