'We don't want people to ever forget our daughter'

When teenager Caitlin Bird died unexpectedly during the coronavirus pandemic, her parents vowed they would one day find a way to properly celebrate their daughter's life.

Caitlin, from Tibshelf, Derbyshire, was 13 years old when she died on 31 October 2020 of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, as a direct result of contracting Covid-19.

This year, she would have turned 18 - and to mark it, the family have organised 18 fundraising events called, Caitlin's 18th - Forever 13.

The fundraising culminates in a charity ball in August to celebrate what would have been her 18th birthday.

Caitlin's parents David and Sally Bird said she was a happy and healthy child with no underlying health conditions before she fell ill.

She was one of 91 children (under the age of 18) to die due to Covid during the pandemic, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The data found 171,276 people died due to Covid between January 2020 and May 2023, across England and Wales.

After her death, only 30 people were allowed to go to her funeral because of Covid restrictions.

"The isolation of the whole thing made it even more unbearable than it would have been anyway," said Mrs Bird.

Caitlin loved reading, and her favourite novelist was Michael Morpurgo.

Not long after her death, her mum received a surprise telephone call from the author, that would later inspire the fundraising in her memory in the year she would have turned 18.

Morpurgo sent the family a copy of one of his novels, Listen to the Moon.

"At the end, there's a whole section about the purpose of those left behind, and that's something that really resonated with me," added Mrs Bird.

"According to the book, the purpose of those left behind is that people who knew your loved one will never forget them, and people that didn't know them know of them."

"It's something that really, really struck me, and I thought that's what we need to do; I don't want people to ever forget her."

"Caitlin was one of my best friends. She loved to do anything for anybody to help people," said Mr Bird, 42.

"She was such a special person. We are a family of four, and we will always be a family of four, and just because Caitlin's not here, she's still part of our life."

One of the fundraising events is a Michael Morpurgo reading marathon, where people can read one of his novels and pay to write a review, which will be judged by the author.

All proceeds will go to two charities, chosen by Caitlin's parents, Wolf Watch UK and Farms For City Children.

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