Man Finds Woman's Tribute to Baby After Miscarriage in Field Miles From Her Home

A message from a mother paying tribute to her baby after a miscarriage has been found in a field by a man using a metal detector.

Kay Green, 24, from Surrey in southeastern England, released a large confetti-filled balloon after suffering her seventh miscarriage in the past two years, local news outlet EssexLive reported.

Green discovered she was pregnant with the child in early 2021. But around eight weeks into the pregnancy, the mother started bleeding heavily and she subsequently lost the baby.

"Some people will say, 'Oh they get easier,'" Green told EssexLive. "They don't. They never get easier because the losses mount up. You just get more and more upset each time."

Following this series of tragic losses, Green decided to do something special to remember the baby.

So, in early September, Green released the balloon, which contained a scan photo of the baby in the womb and a note from the mother instructing whoever found it to contact her.

Four days later, on September 11, Ricky Harper, 58, found the balloon while metal detecting in a field in Billericay—a town located around 75 miles to the northeast of where Green released the tribute.

Harper said reading the message was an "emotional' experience and brought a tear to his eye.

The 58-year-old debated what to do with the tribute balloon before asking his wife, Julie Watson, to contact Green. Harper then decided to bury the tribute beneath a large oak tree in the field while also saying a prayer for the baby.

"It was very hard, even now thinking about it chokes you up a bit," Harper told EssexLive. "It is bloody heartbreaking. It was very emotional."

"I just pray for the baby, pray for the family, that gives them some sort of peace and hopefully, one day, they will get the next baby they need. I did not want it to be put in the bin and just forgotten. It's one of the things I won't forget. It will stay with me."

After receiving a Facebook message from Watson notifying her that the tribute balloon had been found, Green told family members what had happened.

"I said [to them] I'm so glad someone with such a caring and loving soul found my balloon for our baby," Green said. "Some people could have just walked past it. I don't know how long it was there, someone could have walked past it and thought nothing of it."

"But this person has taken the time out of their day to do something and chose to do this for my family. It was just so sentimental and touching. Honestly, it was just amazing.

"It was so heartwarming and it just filled me with every good emotion in the world. I just felt amazing."

Green said she plans to visit the site where the balloon is buried with her husband and son on the date that the baby was due to be born.

When she was 21, Green was told by doctors that she may never have children again naturally after suffering from a condition known as endometriosis for several years.

This condition, which can affect women of any age, is characterized by the growth of tissue similar to that found in the lining of the womb in other areas, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Individuals with endometriosis often have difficulty getting pregnant or may even become infertile. Despite the condition, Green was able to give birth to her son in July 2019 with the help of IVF.