A Redcar couple are going to brave a freezing Boxing Day swim in the North Sea to raise money for Our Hospital Charity in memory of their baby girl.

Alongside their family, Amy Peirse and Carl Horner will take on Redcar’s Boxing Day Dip to fundraise for Our Hospitals Charity in memory of their daughter Ada.

They lost baby Ada in July, when Amy developed HELLP syndrome following a healthy pregnancy. HELLP is a rare and life-threatening pregnancy complication, which occurs in less than 1 per cent of all pregnancies. HELLP stands for haemolysis (H), elevated liver enzymes (EL), low platelet count (L).

Amy's condition rapidly deteriorated, and she was rushed into surgery at The James Cook University Hospital, where Ada was born deceased.

Read more: Northern Echo 'Put in a Pound' campaign passes £2,500 raised so far

Following the caesarian section, Amy spent six weeks in the hospital recovering from a ruptured liver, kidney failure, a lung bleed, pneumonia and sternotomy. 

Amy said: "I will be eternally grateful to the amazing team of surgeons, consultants and nursing staff from multiple departments within James Cook Hospital who have worked together to save my life."

"The scars I have will be a constant reminder of the worst time in our lives, however, none of this compares to the pain we feel from losing our beautiful daughter."

Amy hopes that by raising money for a new bereavement suite at James Cook she will in return help other families and raise awareness of HELLP syndrome.

Read more: Durham High School for Girls raises thousands for foodbank and hospice

She added: “We have taken some small comfort in finding a purpose following my tragic experience of HELLP syndrome and the devastating loss of our daughter, we would like to give something back to help families during the hardest time of their lives.

“During my time in hospital, my partner Carl along with our family could use the hospital’s existing maternity bereavement room - Billy’s Room - to spend time with our daughter.

“We will be forever grateful for this along with the support we received from the maternity and bereavement teams, so it goes without saying we want to do anything we can to give back to this cause which is very close to our hearts.”

Lisa Meehan, from Our Hospitals Charity, added: “Amy, Carl and their families have been through the most tragic of circumstances, their strength is admirable.

Read next:

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to The Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here.

“It’s great to hear that Amy received such fantastic care from the teams here at James Cook and we are so grateful for the fundraising they are doing in memory of baby Ada.

“The facilities provided by this fundraising will make a huge difference to other families going through extremely difficult times.”

If you would like to sponsor Amy, Carl and their friends and family you can do so via www.justgiving.com/fundraising/A-Peirse