Rebecca Adlington marked the first anniversary of losing her daughter Harper in a nasty miscarriage with a poem written by her husband Andrew Parsons on Sunday.
The Olympic medalist, 35, said her family “struggled” to find the best way to celebrate the heartbreaking anniversary while talking about the little one “every day.”
Rebecca and her husband Andrew are already parents to son Albie, three, and swimmer daughter Summer, nine, from a previous relationship.
The athlete shared photos of a tree buried in Harper's memory and a candle with the caption: 'Harper, always in our hearts you are our shining star and guiding angel.'
The heartbreaking poem read: “Harper Parsons, I have long dreamed of you, my little daughter and a girl of mine, you will have my blue eyes and your mother's blonde hair and of course you will be sporty with your mother's.” driving and my ingenious and very active spirit, or maybe you are our late bloomer.
Rebecca Adlington marked one year since losing her daughter Harper in a devastating miscarriage with a poem written by her husband Andrew Parsons (pictured last year with son Albie, three, and daughter Summer, nine) on Sunday.
The Olympic medalist, 35, said her family had “struggled” over the best way to celebrate the heartbreaking anniversary as they talked about the little one “every day.”
Rebecca and her husband Andrew are already parents to son Albie, three, and swimmer daughter Summer, nine, from a previous relationship (Image: 2023)
“Then one day in October changed and we had to rethink what we thought and we were told our angel had fallen asleep, which was devastating news and a very deep scar.”
He continued: 'Thoughts like walking hand in hand in the rain, I never thought these dreams would hurt so much, I know I'll never know you or be your dad, but not a day goes by without it. It makes me sad.'
'The plans we made to make our family five, there's no doubt you won't make it, I'm sorry we could never make you smile, I'm sorry you were alone this time, we'll never get to see you grow, we'll never get to see your contagious smile. You may never see your first dance because, honestly, you never had the chance.
'I've never heard your beautiful voice. I would trade you in a heartbeat if I had the option. You have made my love grow deeper than I have ever known. How can something so small make me look my best? '.
'After so much pain our little miracle, it feels like it's raining constantly, the best little sister there could be, but now it's time for us to set you free, you must be in heaven.'
'Attended by our loved ones, we hope to see you all dancing so happy that a good party is guaranteed. Knowing that you are not alone fills my heart with love and every time I look at the sky I see your dove, you are part of me and I am part of you.
'The love we had for you, if you only knew it, it is difficult to keep it together, but I know that I have to be strong, strong for you, strong for us, even if it feels so bad, no one will ever take your place, we will meet again day and we will have an endless hug, I will never forget you or your beautiful name, Harper, you will always hold my flame.
Rebecca later captioned the post: 'Happy birthday to our sleeping angel. We thought about our girl every day. Harper has always been a part of our family and a part of our lives.
The athlete shared photos of a tree buried in Harper's memory and a candle with the caption: “Harper, always in our hearts you are our shining star and guiding angel.”
Poem written: 'Harper Parsons I have dreamed of you for a long, long time, my own girl and a girl of mine'
She also posted a sweet chart with the names of all her children.
Rebecca later captioned the post: 'Happy birthday to our sleeping angel. We thought about our girl every day. Harper has always been a part of our family and a part of our lives.
'We talk about her all the time and so do Summer and Albie. We don't keep memories with her, but we do little things throughout our home to keep her love with us always.
She continued: 'I struggled with what we should do today as a family. How we honor her, how we celebrate a day full of love, how we celebrate this anniversary. The truth is that there is no right or wrong.
'Thank you all for the messages. I know it's not easy to talk about, but people don't realize how important three simple words like “Thinking of you” are. If anyone is reading this, if anyone is going through anything, I recommend those 3 words.
'Many thanks to @petalscharity, the advice has been a lifesaver for us and very basic. This week also means the world needs to sign up and have a session.
rebecca last month She spoke about her miscarriage loose women She admits that she can't stop blaming herself for the tragedy, but is glad she spoke openly about her pain.
She revealed: 'Due to my recent miscarriage with Harper last year, I was 20 weeks pregnant and I couldn't escape this huge bump and I was almost expressing my pregnancy as “oh where's the baby, why not?” . “It no longer has a pump.”
He added: “It would have caused more speculation and more questions.”
“So I was forced to do it, I learned my lesson, but it was one of them and I had no choice but to announce it.”
She admitted: “I'm very happy because I think it has helped a lot of women.”
If you have been affected by this story, you can get advice at www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk or call 01924 200 799.
