Mum of Britain’s biggest family Sue Radford shares emotional tribute to late son
Mum of Britain's biggest family Sue Radford has shared a tribute to her late son Alfie.
Alfie was delivered stillborn on 6 July 2014, after doctors couldn't find a heartbeat.
Sue went to hospital after experiencing sharp back pain, when she was given the devastating news.
Advert
A decade on from their loss, and Sue took to social media where she shared a tribute to her son.
"This time 10 years ago I was in a labour room being told our beautiful baby boy had no heartbeat," wrote Sue.
"I would be induced a few hours later for him to be born silent but perfect at 7:54am the next morning.
"This time of year never ever gets easier. I can't believe it's 10 years tomorrow since he was born."
Alongside the heartfelt post, Sue shared photos of Alfie's tiny hand, as well as footprints and handprints that were taken at the time of his birth.
Sue previously opened up on losing Alfie, explaining she knew something was wrong in the days prior.
Writing in The Radfords: Making Life Count, Sue said: "From finding out I was pregnant with Alfie, I think I always knew we were never going to take him home.
"I just knew. It was so odd because I never felt like that during any of my other pregnancies. But with Alfie, I somehow knew I wasn't taking him home.
"Then, probably about three days prior to losing him, I just felt like he was slipping away because his movements were slowing down. It began with my instincts and then, towards the end, it was just the little physical things.
"Then the day we lost him, we were filming down on the beach. I came home and was getting some really sharp back pains and I said to Noel 'I don't feel well and the baby's not moved'.
"We went to the hospital and they couldn't find a heartbeat. The doctor scanned me and that's when they said 'I'm really sorry, but he has died'. I don't think we can ever be mentally prepared for something as awful as that happening to you."
The Radford family consists of mum, Sue, and dad, Noel, and their 22 children - Chris, 35, Sophie, 30, Chloe, 28, Jack, 27, Daniel, 25, Luke, 23, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 20, Ellie, 19, Aimee, 18, Josh, 17, Max, 15, Tillie, 14, Oscar, 12, Casper, 11, Hallie, nine, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, five and Heidi, four.
Since Alfie's death, the family have regularly shared posts in tribute to their 17th baby.
If you need support and advice following a pregnancy loss, you can contact the Tommy’s team at [email protected]. You can also call them for free on 0800 014 7800, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Lucy Devine