BEREAVEMENT GROUP |
For many of us with a heart child, especially those with a complex condition that requires constant treatment, the fear that they may lose their struggle to stay with us is always at the back of our minds. Sadly for almost 15% of our members this fear is a reality. We feel that it is vitally important that we provide whatever support we can for these families. Often the most important thing we can do is to remember their child. For bereaved families their child is still a part of their every waking moment, they can never forget them and nor should we.
In 1992 Heart Children was instrumental in the setting up of the Book of Remembrance in Crumlin. In this book the name of every child who has died in Crumlin is entered along with the names of their family who miss them. The book is kept in the hospital chapel and can be viewed by families at any time. Two inscriptions appear on each page of the book, which are very appropriate:
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"I will always remember you, I have etched your name in the palm of my hands"
Issiah
"And a little child shall lead them"
Issiah
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Every year Heart Children Ireland holds a service for bereaved families. This is usually held in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin. Refreshments are provided afterwards, which gives families the opportunity to talk to each other as they share a common bond of grief.
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In 1999 in conjunction with Crann, a voluntary group dedicated to the re-establishment of broadleaf trees in Ireland (www.crann.ie), Heart Children established a memorial site in Coolbawn in Tipperary for all children who have died from congenital heart disorders.
At this site families can sponsor a tree in the name of their child who has died. There is also a stone, which is engraved with the inscriptions from the Book of Remembrance in Crumlin. We hope that this site will over time be a central part of the Heart Children group, and that as the trees mature and grow the service will also expand and become not only a way of remembering but also of celebrating the lives of children who have died from congenital heart defects.
Maybe families can take comfort in the beauty and tranquillity of the site and the idea of living and growing trees, which will last longer than any of us.
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None of this would have come about without the tremendous support and enthusiasm which we have gotten from Crann, especially Denis Heenan and Myles Sterling who have both been extremely generous with their time and ideas. Local company Murray Stone kindly agreed to sponsor the engraving for us. This kind of help has made this whole idea possible and shows a great sense of community, one that we should all be proud of.
People interested in sponsoring trees at the site should contact the office:
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Heart Children Ireland, The Carmichael Centre,
North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7 |
| Telephone |
Lo Call 1850 217 017
(Within Republic of Ireland) |
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(00 353 1) 8740990 |
| Fax |
01 87357377 |
| Email |
heartchildren@eircom.net |
| Website |
www.heartchildren.ie |
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