A mum and dad will walk from their home in Farington, Leyland, to Blackpool Central Pier Beach in memory of their baby daughter, Ariya, on what would have been her first birthday.
Natasha Duong, 36, and Jon Acornley, 37, will walk 20 miles on Saturday (15 February) alongside family and friends to raise money for Derian House, the children’s hospice that continues to support their family.
Their daughter, Ariya Leigh Acornley, was born on 15 February 2024 and lived for just 17 hours. She spent the following six days in one of Derian House’s special cold rooms, which gave her family more precious time to spend with her.
For parents Natasha and Jon, their journey to Blackpool holds a special significance in their hearts, as it is where they were able to take Ariya on one final late-night trip to see the sand and stars after she had passed away – with help from staff at Derian House.
Blackpool has since become a special place they call “Ariya’s place,” where they can go whenever they want to feel close to her.
Derian House is now working closely with police and coroners to put in place a protocol to support families in situations like this, which will hopefully be shared across the country as best practice.
“Of all the incredible things Derian did for us, the most meaningful was making it possible for us to take Ariya to Blackpool,” said mum Natasha.
“My family has always loved doing something crazy, like taking a trip to Blackpool at midnight. It is something I have continued with my own children. And while at Derian, we decided we wanted to do this with Ariya.
“I didn’t believe it we would be allowed to because it’s not a normal thing to do. But the staff at Derian House did everything they could to make sure we were able to do this safely.
“We had a beautiful, emotional time – it was perfect. We made our way on to Blackpool beach with Ariya, along with my mum Lorraine, my two sisters Jade and Nikita, and my brother Ben. We lit candles in the sand. We showed Ariya the lights, the tower, the sand, the sea, and the stars. I even found a shell to place in her hand. This will forever be one of the most beautiful incredible nights of my life and I’m just so thankful to have this memory to take with me.
“Before Ariya I didn’t know much about Derian House, and it’s just amazing that there is a place for such a devastating time in someone’s life,” continued Natasha.
“Donations are vital to make sure that Derian House can continue helping families who experience what we have, which is why we will be walking from Leyland to Blackpool in memory of our beautiful Ariya.
“Our warrior princess fought and fought, and when Ariya took her last breath in my arms, I knew our lives would be changed forever,” said Natasha.
“Derian was there for us straight after leaving the hospital. I spent every night there beside Ariya because I didn’t want to be away. Jon and the children were upstairs in one of the lovely family apartments and were also taken care of so well too. I was able to play Disney songs for Ariya. We were even able to have a movie night in Derian’s cinema room and we watched Mulan with Ariya. It was truly so special.
“Derian House continues to support us, especially our girls Skye and Anna; they go on Derian days out, they visit the support groups, and have counselling. They have the support of Derian House in such a special and unique way. We will be forever thankful, and be their biggest advocates for the rest of our lives.
“Nothing we will ever do will take the pain away of the loss we feel every day, however our little girl’s name needs to be shouted from the rooftops. And if we can help other families who have to go through a similar experience to ours, we want to do it in Ariya’s name, so she can live on through care and kindness to others in the darkest of times.”
Natasha and Jon will walk from Leyland to Blackpool alongside 20 others including Ariya’s brother Leighton, and her sisters Skye and Anna, along with Ariya’s nanny Lorraine, and Ariya’s aunts and uncles.
Donate to the Blackpool walk in memory of Ariya: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/natasha-duong-1
Catherine Randall, Chief Nurse at Derian House, said: “We pride ourselves on being able to look after every family each in their own unique way.
“Ariya’s family chose to celebrate their beautiful daughter’s life in a way that felt right for them. The benefit of hospice care is that we can be flexible and put the individual needs of our families at the forefront of care. We are now taking the lead in establishing a protocol to support all families, working closely with the authorities, which will hopefully be shared across the country as best practice.
“We think it is amazing that Natasha and Jon are raising awareness for families just like theirs. It costs £6million to run our hospice every year and the money raised will help us to be able to offer the same high level of personalised care to other families in the future.”
Derian House, based in Chorley, Lancashire, cares for more than 400 seriously ill babies, children, young people and their families from across the North West helping them to make the most of every moment.
17 Feb
