Chris Gard's tribute to Charlie: 'I have 3,000 photos of him on my camera and love every one'
"Charlie, I would give up everything I own for just 5 more minutes with you. I miss everything about you. I want to hold your hand again. I want to stroke your hair" ?
The heartbreaking story of little Charlie Gard gripped the nation earlier this year, as his parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates fought for him to go to the US for treatment of his life-threatening genetic condition, eventually losing their case in the Supreme Court.
And now Dad Chris has shared a touching Facebook tribute to his son - who died in July - including photos of the day he was born, and the first day Chris went back to work (incidentally, he was a colleague of ours here at MadeForMums).
Chris writes:
"I have over 3,000 photos of Charlie on my camera roll. To pick out my favourite would be impossible. I love every single one of them and I look at them all the time. There is not one photo of him I don’t love. I cherish them all.
"But the two I have picked out obviously have special meaning. The first one is the day he was born, the greatest day of my life. I never knew I had it in me to instantly fall in love with someone, but I did.
"Life was truly amazing that day. I don’t think it can ever be beaten.
More like this
"The second one is obviously quite a famous photo but it has a special meaning to me. After Charlie was born, I had paternity leave and then annual leave.
"The day this photo was taken was my first day back at work after he was born. It was about 7am. I was really nervous about going back to work.
"I didn’t want to leave him, I’d never been away from him before and the thought of being away from him, even for a few hours, made me teary.
"I went in the bedroom to kiss him goodbye and he looked up at me and gave me that beautiful smile. That smile got me through that day. Once I had finished work, I rushed home like I’d never rushed home before.
"Charlie, I would give up everything I own for just 5 more minutes with you. I miss everything about you. I want to hold your hand again. I want to stroke your hair.
"I wanna kiss those bloody adorable cheeks of yours one more time. I’d kiss those cheeks at least 200 times a day when you here. They were so soft and squidgy and I’d do anything to kiss them again.
"I miss you Charlie.
"I hope that this gets easier one day. But I know you’re helping me along the way and I feel you with me all the time.
"I love you son. And thank you for making me the proudest father on earth.
"All my love, now and forever.
"Dad x ? ? "
?
Chris has shared his post in time for Baby Loss Awareness Week, and we have to say, we find his words so touching: after all, few stories have gripped the world quite like Charlie's.
And now his mum and dad are hoping use the money raised by the public to help other children like him by setting up a foundation in his honour ❤️
Images: Charlie's Army on Facebook
Read more:
Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
How NatPat's wellness patches may help your family
NatPat's range of wellness patches and stickers aim to tackle everything from allergies to lack of focus. We take a closer look at the range.