On March 29th, Shane and I will run the London Landmarks half Marathon to raise funds for Shooting Star Hospice. Shane is a pro, I’m a first timer!  We’re running for Shooting Star in gratitude for the support they provided our younger son Ruairí, and for the support they provide us since he has died. I still attend regular bereavement therapy sessions. Charlie goes to Sibling days, where he gets to spend time having fun with other children who have also lost a sibling, this is the only place he gets to do that, and it’s so important for him.

Our sweet Ruairí was born on April 12th 2017, it was the happiest of days, he completed our family. He had the biggest blue eyes (just like his big brother) and grew the cutest blonde curls that stood up straight on the top of his little head! He also had the cutest smile and a giggle that made you laugh right with him every time. Devastatingly his life was just 13.5 months long and on May 26th, 2018 our brave boy died from a rare and terminal neurological disorder. Our family is forever broken, every fabric of our being shaken to the core, grief is overwhelming, huge, and it doesn’t leave. We have learned that grief is simply a reflection of our love, how deeply we grieve reflects how much we love. Our love doesn’t stop, therefore grief is not a passing thing, not something that we ‘get over’ and never a past tense expression, our love continues. And grief it lives in the future too, in the life that Ruairí doesn’t have, that we don’t have with him. Our sweet boy is always close, an integral part of our lives, our family. And in rebuilding our lives, in rediscovering happiness we are learning how to hold him with us while also trying to move forward. Shooting star hospice are instrumental in helping us navigate all of this. 

Our gratitude is beyond huge, so, if you can, please donate, every £1 counts supporting families, that’s currently over 700 families, right here in London and Surrey, children with life limiting conditions, their families, and the families who like us have already said goodbye and need support in the aftermath of the worst moment you can imagine.