Bereaved Saxmundham father who lost daughter to rare condition offers photography services to families at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices care

A father has said the pain of losing his daughter to a rare condition made him question the point in his life as he offers his services to others visiting a children's hospice for care.

Leo Martin, a photographer from Saxmundham, will offer portraits to families at East Anglia's Children's Hospices inspired by the loss of his daughter Daisy Low-Martin who died in September 2019, aged seven, after suffering with Carey-Fineman-Ziter Syndrome.

The bereaved dad has spoken of the "endless knowledge, kindness, positivity and patience" of staff at The Treehouse in Ipswich who cared for his daughter and allowed them to make precious memories.

Leo said: "Daisy had complex needs and required 24-hour specialist care. It was a steep learning curve in the first couple of years and there was so much to do and learn.

"However, we were lucky to have an incredible team of nurses and carers and I’m forever grateful for their seemingly endless knowledge, kindness, positivity and especially their patience, in such difficult circumstances.

"I remember the first day I went to The Treehouse. I didn’t even know a place like that existed. It was so well equipped and the staff were incredibly welcoming and kind. They were wonderful and work tirelessly.

"They obviously knew far better than we did about the emotional journey we were starting, but they gave us space to come to terms with it.

"Daisy absolutely loved it and I enjoyed going there, too. Some of our best days were at the hospice and the difference it made to our lives was massive.

"I’ll always be grateful for everything EACH did and to everyone who works behind the scenes to make that support possible."

Leo, who will remember his daughter as a happy and chilled out girl, said her death was devastating.

"It’s hard to express just how devastating it was losing Daisy. She was my everything.

"The pain of losing her was unbearable and I didn’t think I’d be able to go on. I didn’t see a point in my own life anymore.

"I tried my best to keep it together for the people around me and just spent a lot of time alone, crying.

"It’s only now I can handle talking about her without breaking down, and even now that’s not always the case.

"Losing her destroyed my life and it’s only now that I’m starting to get back on my feet.”

And now Leo wants to give back by offering high quality photos to other families being supported by EACH after he realised he did not have many of Daisy that he could keep himself.

The keen photographer said: "During our time at The Treehouse, we enjoyed sessions with (Music Therapist) Ray (Travasso) and he always told me that finding something I can passionately immerse myself in would help me.

“He was right and, for me, it's photography. It’s probably saved my life. As I get more and more involved, I've come to realise that all the photos I have of Daisy are low-quality phone pictures and/or selfies. None are of particularly great quality.

“I'm sure that must also be true for so many other parents going through similar things to me so plan to offer professional family portraits.

“It’s a service I’ll be offering totally free of charge. I can come and visit them at home or in the hospice, they can dress up in their best clothes, we'll do the photoshoot and then I’ll print and frame their favourite photo of the day.

“This way they’ll always have one great picture to hang on their wall.

“It’ll be my way of giving back to EACH, for all the support it provided me. I dearly hope it would benefit other families receiving support, too.”