Cork dad does skydive in memory of his son in aid of Mercy

WHEN Colin Curran takes to the skies next Saturday, he will be thinking of his precious son, Sonny, who passed away at just 25 days old, and the place where he works every day.

“I am a porter in the Mercy Hospital,” says Colin, from Knocknaheeny.

“It was always a dream of mine, and since Sonny passed, I want to give back. I’m not a doctor, but this is for me helping people every day in the hospital where I am dedicated to two stroke units. It is a bonus liking what I do so much,” says Colin, 32.

Colin, and six of his colleagues are completing a charity skydive at the Irish Parachute Club, Co. Offaly, in memory of Sonny and to raise funds for the Mercy University Hospital Foundation Kids and Teens Appeal.

The event on September 23, on what would have been Sonny’s third birthday, will remember the little boy who touched the lives of his family and the community on Cork’s Northside in his short life.

Colin and his wife, Karen, will never forget their first-born. Their twin daughters, Nina and Gigi, are 14 months old.

The young couple were very excited at the prospect of becoming parents for the first time, when Karen was pregnant with Sonny.

“It was in the middle of the pandemic and the madness of all that,” says Colin.

“There were no partners allowed into the scans. We arranged to have a private scan at 18 weeks, a gender reveal scan.”

Celebrations were afoot.

“And we were going to pop the balloon when we found out if it was a girl or a boy,” says Colin.

But they found out something else too.

“The lady doing the scan was a lovely lady,” says Colin.

She detected something and decided to have one more look. 

We saw her face dropping and she said she saw a spot on the baby’s chest. She said she wasn’t qualified to tell us anything further and we went to CUH, to Dr Nóirín Russell for further scans.”

It was a worrying time.

“We panicked a bit,” admits Colin.

“A congenital cystic abdomen was detected, a slight malformation but it was just a cyst. We were told it should go away during the pregnancy or soon after the birth.

“After that, we booked a scan every week at CUH, and I was allowed to go.”

Now they knew the gender..

“We found out it was a boy,” says Colin.

“Karen loved the film Big Daddy and she loved the name Sonny. I liked it too.”

Karen went into early labour at 26 weeks.

Colin said: “Even though everything was rushed, and we were worried, we thought all would be OK.

“When Sonny was born, he went straight to the neo-natal, to intensive care.”

Sonny was very close to his parents; yet out of reach.

“We couldn’t see him or hold him,” says Colin.

The doctors told us they were very sorry, but Sonny was sicker than they thought. 

"We asked if we could see him and two of us were allowed in, then one at a time.

“The following morning, he had more tests, and we were told Sonny had CDH, a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.”

What did that mean?

“Sonny had a hole in his diaphragm and his organs were pushed into his chest. He found it hard to breathe.

“He spent a week and a half in CUH and then he was transferred to Crumlin Children’s Hospital where they were more equipped to treat his condition. He was to have surgery to correct the hole in his diaphragm. He was very sick,” says Colin. “We were afraid he’d pass away.”

He didn’t feel fearful in Crumlin. “I will never forget the care at the hospital,” says Colin.

“You are aware of that as soon as you walk in and see all the sick babies and kids there.”

Colin observed other things.

“Going through hard times, you see goodness in everyone.”

A relative also stepped up to the mark.

“Myles Gaffney, my aunt’s husband, is a singer,” says Colin. “He had a charity night for Sonny two weeks after he was born, doing a gig from his front room at home, ‘Songs for Sonny’. There were loads of texts saying there was never so many candles burned on the Northside!”

On October 18, Sonny took a bad turn.

“He came around and his kidneys started working again,” says Colin.

“We were asked to leave as he was to have surgery, but that didn’t happen.”

When Sonny, a born fighter, took a turn for the worse again, Colin and Karen were told there was no more to be done for their little baby.

His parents were allowed to hold him for the first time.

“While he was still alive, we were able to hold Sonny for a few minutes,” says Colin.

The daddy finally had his son cradled in his arms.

“It’s all I ever wanted,” says Colin.

Sonny lived for an hour.

“I used to sing every day to him,” says Colin.

I’m a Liverpool supporter and I sang You’ll Never Walk Alone and Don’t Worry About A Thing.

Everyone joined in one more time.

“In his final moments we sang to him, and every doctor and nurse formed a circle holding hands and sang You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Sonny never did walk alone.

“He passed away in our arms,” says Colin. “Sonny was christened twice. We have lovely memories.”

The singing continued.

“At the grave, family, friends and all the kids played songs,” says Colin.

The balloons kept coming.

“Every year Karen and I leave off balloons on September 23 in memory of Sonny,” says Colin.

The baby’s first birthday was marked in another way.

“For Sonny’s first birthday I did a charity skydive for Crumlin Children’s Hospital,” says Colin.

This time around, he and six of his colleagues will jump out of a plane for the Mercy Foundation and in memory of Sonny.

Colin has no fear of heights then? Considering he is free-falling from 13,000 feet?

Colin laughs.

“I don’t have any fear of heights. I want to give back in Sonny’s name.

The funds raised from the skydive will help other families with sick kids in the Mercy to have the most comfortable experience possible, in what is a very difficult time in their lives.

Colin went through a difficult time in his life when his child was seriously ill.

“It was the hardest time of my life. I’ll never forget how good people were to us. There is always someone in need.”

But there is always help at hand.

“My old boss, John Kiely, of CJ coal stores, did a charity swim for the kids’ ward after Sonny died. John raised €2,000 for the Kids and Teens Appeal.”

Colin, a lover of music and poetry, wrote a poem for his son that is etched on Sonny’s headstone.

His son will always be remembered.

“All the family saw Sonny pass away. And Myles wrote a song about him called When I Met Sonny,” says Colin.

Colin, who loves his job as hospital porter in the Mercy University Hospital, is giving back. His colleagues are his wing men.

“They all chipped in for a voucher for €300 for me to get a tattoo because I went through a hard time,” says Colin. “I’m heading to the tattoo studio now.”

Colin has no fear!

“No fear!” he replies, laughing. “I’ve been through this before.”

And Colin has given back before.

“I mark every year since Sonny was born,” he explains.”

Joining Colin doing the skydive on Saturday September 23, will be Paul Aldridge, Evan Cashman, James Taylor, Micheal Murray, Jimmy McCarthy and health care assistant Jason O’Sullivan.

To donate to the Sonny Curran Memorial Skydive fundraiser, visit https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/colinCurran to make a one off donation.

For more information on Mercy University Hospital Foundation’s Kids & Teens Appeal visit https://www.mercyhospitalfoundation.ie/appeals/the-mercy-kids-teens-appeal/.