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Family devastated after baby boy 'unexpectedly' dies in his sleep

The devastated parents of a baby boy who passed away in his sleep have thanked the community for rallying behind their family, helping to raise more than $14,500 in just two days.

Four-month-old Lucas died unexpectedly in his sleep on Monday. His parents Jess and Josh, from the Gold Coast, wrote heartbreaking tributes to their youngest son on their Facebook pages.

“Lucas our sweet darling I believe you will always be with us in spirit. And we will never ever ever forget you,” Jess wrote.

“The feeling of losing a child is absolutely unbearable and you never think it will happen to you, nothing can compare.

“We are positive you will be here with us forever and we feel so lucky we got to be your mummy and daddy. Our hearts are truly broken.”

A close friend of the heartbroken couple, Tameka Anderson, started a GoFundMe page for the young parents and Lucas’ older brother, Ollie.

Four-month-old Lucas died in his sleep on Monday. Source: GoFundMe
Four-month-old Lucas died in his sleep on Monday. Source: GoFundMe

With a goal of $5000, the fundraiser aimed to raise money to support Jess, Josh and five-year-old Ollie, and to cover funeral costs.

Within just one day, $10,000 was raised.

By the second day, the goal was almost tripled.

“Such a big thank you to everyone for your love and support over the past 24 hours,” Jess wrote on her Facebook page.

“Thank you so much to everyone from the bottom of our hearts. Josh and I are totally empty inside and we know the one thing we want that would make this all go away we will never get back and that is our baby boy Lucas. but this support, donations and messages of love and prayers make it a little bit less suffocating on us. THANK YOU!”

Lucas will be farewelled in a funeral service tomorrow in Nerang.

To donate to the GoFundMe account, click here.

According to the page, the fundraiser will be removed on Friday.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Red Nose, a charity that aims to eradicate sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).