Life beyond grief

fortnight for Joshua’s body to be returned from the coroner in Brisbane, Mrs Reinke’s former colleagues at the Towns- ville Hospital started fundraiser for SIDS.

“It gave me something to focus on after his death,” Mrs a Reinke said. “In those 12 days we raised almost $ 30,000 for SIDS – we basically got one third of Red Nose Day’s total for last year.”

Mrs Reinke said she fell into complete darkness after Joshua was laid to rest.

“I remember saying I’m going to be brave until his funeral and then I’m going to fall to pieces – and I did,” she said.

She is fundraising for Red Nose Day to support the charity that helped her through the darkness and to raise awareness about SIDS, stillbirths, miscarriages and childhood deaths.

“Losing a child is the hardest thing you can ever go through,” Mrs Reinke said.

“It was complete darkness for me and I really needed assistance – they provided that for me.”

Her daughter Hayley, 5, still speaks of Joshua in the present tense.

“He’s alive to her, there’s not a day that goes by that we don’t talk about him and what he’d be doing in heaven,” Mrs Reinke said.

To donate to Joshua’s Legacy, go to: rednoseday2018. everydayhero. com/ au/ f riendsof- joshua- reinke- 2018.

“It’s one of those things that you think ‘ it will never happen to me’ but it did,” Mrs Reinke said.

“To me, this is the only way I can be a mother to my son.”