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Anna-Louise.<br />
Following on from being Charity<br />
of the Year for Cardiff Bereavement<br />
Services, the charity has been<br />
offered an area of land at the new<br />
Northern Cemetery in Thornhill, and<br />
approved by Cardiff City Council.<br />
"It'll be a reflective space which<br />
will encourage people to think<br />
about the positives of life rather<br />
than loss, and I’m delighted to<br />
be part of it. This garden is to<br />
honour those involved in donation<br />
while educating about the<br />
#FabGiftOfLife. We want this garden<br />
to be a national point of interest,<br />
highlighting Wales as being the<br />
trailblazers in adopting our new<br />
organ donation system. We wish to<br />
involve as much of the community<br />
as possible to add value, and also<br />
help raise the much-needed funds<br />
for this project."<br />
The garden project is one that's<br />
designed to provide positivity to<br />
those who visit.<br />
"The garden incorporates a heart<br />
that we have been told will be<br />
seen from Google maps,” says<br />
Anna-Louise. “Around the heart, we<br />
hope to have stones in boulders<br />
and around that, we'll have quotes<br />
from medics and donor families<br />
that we hope will provide comfort<br />
and support. We also hope that<br />
these will help alleviate some of<br />
the myths and misconceptions<br />
surrounding the area of organ<br />
donation. Animal sculptures will<br />
be dotted around to reflect other<br />
organs, all designed to educate and<br />
inform.<br />
"At the top of the heart, there will<br />
be a replica of Castle Coch and a<br />
wall where you can find hand prints<br />
- it'll allow you to place your hand<br />
in them and the point is to find your<br />
hand print match; you may even<br />
know that famous match!<br />
"There will also be an umbrella<br />
shining through the Light of Life<br />
held up by our Fraser and Hope<br />
Bears. Next to our garden, the<br />
Council are building a Forget-You-<br />
Not Garden and that will largely<br />
be to remember people who died<br />
during the Covid pandemic.<br />
"Within our garden, there will be<br />
trees with hearts which we will be<br />
dedicating to our Welsh deceased<br />
and living donors. They will be sent<br />
a heart to have in their home too,<br />
to celebrate their decision. Along<br />
with the order of St John that is<br />
presented to donor families, this will<br />
be a visible honour for that ultimate<br />
gift."<br />
Anna-Louise truly believes that<br />
together with the local community,<br />
she can make this vision a reality<br />
Stu,Fraser, Anna-Louise,<br />
and Elizabeth<br />
and with kind assistance from local<br />
professionals, she has produced a<br />
short film calling people to actively<br />
Fundraise, Action and Believe.<br />
Those who want to find out more<br />
or get involved in this project can<br />
see the video by visiting the website<br />
www.believeods.org.uk<br />
The garden project tops a busy<br />
year for Anna-Louise, who will also<br />
be publishing her memoir later this<br />
Spring.<br />
"Writing the book has been<br />
very hard. I thought that people<br />
would find it egotistical and boring<br />
and that everyone knew my<br />
story. However by writing the book, I<br />
realised that even I don’t know all of<br />
my story."<br />
Anna-Louise explains:<br />
"I can’t even remember how every<br />
bit of my story transpired and I<br />
certainly don’t know how it will end.<br />
All that is certain is that the thing<br />
that should never happen to anyone<br />
happened to me.<br />
“We have all been through grief,<br />
or we will at some point. Death is<br />
part of life, and there isn’t a single<br />
person in this world who won’t have<br />
to deal with the repercussions of<br />
losing someone they love. And yet,<br />
despite that, we don’t deal terribly<br />
well with loss in our culture. We<br />
deflect and minimise, we mumble<br />
our condolences, and shuffle away<br />
as the bereaved person deals with<br />
the enormity, the unimaginable<br />
people<br />
magnitude, of what has been taken<br />
from them.<br />
"The book is the story of how I<br />
became the woman I am today,<br />
of how I loved and lost - and<br />
continued to love.<br />
"It’s the story of having my husband<br />
and my son ripped from me, and<br />
of how I, with my daughter, fought<br />
to survive. It’s the story of how grief<br />
continues to live alongside your<br />
new life. It’s the story of how you get<br />
through every second of every day<br />
with your heart breaking, but also<br />
the fight to do something to make a<br />
difference in memory of those who<br />
have gone.<br />
"It’s a story of believing."<br />
Find out more about this project:<br />
tinyurl.com/believeorgandonation<br />
You can also be the first to read<br />
Anna's book here:<br />
tinyurl.com/annalouisebook<br />
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