22 Kids and Counting's Sue Radford has revealed she received shocking messages from trolls after posting an emotional tribute to her stillborn son on Instagram.
The Radford family consists of mum, Sue, and dad, Noel, and their 22 children - Chris, 33, Sophie, 29, Chloe, 27, Jack, 25, Daniel, 24, Luke, 22, Millie, 22, Katie, 20, James, 19, Ellie, 17, Aimee, 16, Josh, 15, Max, 14, Tillie, 12, Oscar, 11, Casper, 10, Hallie, seven, Phoebe, six, Archie, five, Bonnie, four and Heidi, two.
Sue and Noel often share insights into their unique and incredibly large family online.
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For Baby Loss Awareness Week (9-15 October), Sue shared a post about the couple's son Alfie, who was stillborn three months into her pregnancy in 2014. He would have been their 17th child.
The heartbreaking Instagram post featured an image of Alfie's grave surrounded by flowers and stuffed animals as well as a black and white photo of his hand.
The snaps were captioned: “Wave of light 2023. Forever our missing heartbeat, Alfie Thomas Radford.”
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While many people sent the Radford family love and supportive messages, trolls were unfortunately also out in force, leaving a number of disgusting comments on the post.
One person wrote: “Again?? What's the occasion? No content?”
Sue took a screenshot of the nasty comment and shared it with the response: “People like this are really mentally not ok. They must have such incredibly sad life and for that I feel sorry for you.”
She rightfully added: “I will never stop talking about Alfie. He is our son who is loved and missed.”
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Fans of the Radford family also jumped to their defence.
One person commented: "Does there have to be an occasion… they lost their son have some respect."
Another added: "Why does there need to be an occasion, pretty sure not a minute or day goes by they don't think of their little boy! Seriously need to wise up before commenting s**t."
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And a third person wrote: “Are you seriously questioning why they are remembering their son? Do you have any empathy or are you just an idiot troll? I lost my 6 month old boy a long time ago but I still put little things up on my socials. How dare you even question if someone wishes to do that. Try showing a little empathy in your life if you're able.”
If you need support and advice following a pregnancy loss, you can contact the Tommy’s team at [email protected]. You can also call them for free on 0800 014 7800 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Topics: Sue Radford, Radford Family, Parenting
Bec Oakes