A BEREAVED mother reduced the great and good of Brighton to tears with a brave speech about her two lost children.

Brave Victoria Ramm took to the stage at the Snowman Spectacular Ball to speak about the care and support she and her family received from Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice.

The packed crowd, which included celebrities and business leaders, fell silent during Mrs Ramm’s powerful speech and she received a standing ovation at the end.

Mrs Ramm, 30, and her husband Lewis, 36, lost their first child Heidi in 2010 and another daughter Eloise, in 2013.

Both babies were only a few weeks old and had a genetic condition so rare, doctors still do not know what it was.

Both youngsters were cared for at the hospice, which is based near Arundel.

Mrs Ramm, from Chichester, said: “We have been so grateful for everything the hospice has done for us and I wanted to do what I could to help.

“I was really nervous going up on the stage. It is a difficult subject to talk about anyway but to do in front of huge crowd made it even more daunting.

“I hope my story has helped get the message across about why the hospice is so important.

This year’s glittering ball, at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, raised a record-breaking £532,314 on the night.

The 540 guests enjoyed an evening of magical entertainment in a winter wonderland setting inspired by the charity’s patron, Raymond Briggs’ iconic Snowman.

Music was provided by Julia Birkinshaw, gospel choir the Armonia Singers, Candy Apple Blue and Incognito Artists.

Celebrities included Benidorm actress hospice patron Julie Graham, Big Brother winner Jason Burrill, footballers Kerry Mayo and Paul Jones and Stephen Webb and Chris Steed from Gogglebox.

There was also an auction with lots including a luxury all-inclusive private Caribbean island holiday and a chance to be a character in Brighton crime author Peter James’ next book.

Businesses were also urged to join the Pay For a Day and Pay For an Hour scheme and pledged to fund 61 days and 132 hours of hospice care.

Hospice head of fundraising development Sarah Arnold said: “We are so grateful to our wonderful guests at this year's Snowman Spectacular Fundraising Ball for their overwhelming support and generosity.

“£532,314 is an incredible sum and will pay for more than 11 weeks of care provided by Chestnut Tree House both at our children's hospice and in families’ own homes across East and West Sussex."

A MOVING STORY, TOLD FROM THE HEART...

Extracts from Victoria’s speech

IN 2010 our first daughter, Heidi, was born.

Five weeks later she fell ill and that followed with a horrific week in hospital. Sshe was sent to the paediatric intensive care unit in Southampton, where we were then told that she had suffered severe brain damage and would not be able to breathe on her own when the life support machines were turned off.

Somehow she defied the doctor’s expectations and did breathe on her own once we withdrew the life support.

We spent 24 hours at Chestnut Tree House. We walked into this big house where we were shown to a bedroom with French windows that led out on to a beautiful garden, which was edged by woodlands.

It was a beautiful sunny spring day. In a bit of daze we found ourselves sitting on a picnic blanket with fresh sandwiches and crisps. Lewis, Heidi and I sat in the sun all afternoon breathing in the fresh air. There were bunnies playing just metres away from us.

It was peaceful. It was an indescribable comfort after having spent a week in hospital, not seeing daylight, not having eaten proper food and hearing nothing but the beeping of hospital machines.

That evening we bathed Heidi in her own lavender baby wash. She smelt like our baby girl again. I hadn’t been able to hold her and cuddle her for nearly a week whilst in hospital. We had to make no decisions, there was no pressure on us and somehow the staff just knew what we needed. She died in her sleep laying between mummy and daddy in their bed.

Three years later we found ourselves at the hospice again with our third daughter Eloise. The symptoms were the same as Heidi and we were aware very quickly that we would lose Eloise too.

We made the decision within days of her initial symptoms to take her to Chestnut Tree House where her pain and seizures were managed.

As a result of the calmness and management, we had over three weeks with Eloise in the comfort, love and security of the house.

Being there with Eloise gave us the opportunity to live as a family, including our then two-year-old Amelie, who came to visit every day. Instead of horrific memories of such a sad time, we were given every chance and opportunity to create some final and lasting memories.

We had a bedroom upstairs in the house provided for Lewis, Amelie and I with an en suite bathroom. Eloise had a bedroom downstairs, which looked like a normal bedroom but was fully kitted out with all the medical necessities.

We felt unable to leave Eloise for a moment, knowing how precious every single second was with her, so the wonderful staff found us a comfy sofa bed which all three of us slept on downstairs in Eloise’s bedroom.

There is nothing that the staff found out of reach for us. The heart of the hospice was filled with laughter and smiles from staff and children. We could watch TV snuggled on a sofa, play football and ride bikes with Amelie in the garden.

There are so many little things we did at Chestnut, or that the staff there did for us, that I could talk about. Things that to anyone else sound mundane or minor but gave us a comfort that is unimaginable at a time that is so impossible to comprehend.

We were pampered to the point where we did not have to think about doing anything but focus all our energy on Eloise and memory making.

Walking through the front doors at Chestnut Tree is like walking into a huge embrace.

It is warm, it is kind and I feel at ease.