Plans to build paediatric unit in honour of late Cork nurse get underway

A YOUNG nurse who passed away from cancer will continue to help save lives even in death, as plans to build a paediatric ward in her honour get under way.

Sonya Lynch from Togher was just 48 when she succumbed to cancer in recent weeks.

Her children Isaac, 12; Isabel, 15; and Alex, 17, have shown incredible strength during that time.

The siblings have already raised almost €19,000 of their €25,000 target to build a children’s ward in Sri Lanka as a fitting tribute to their mother.

They achieved the feat with the help of their uncle, Sonya’s brother Mark Penney. The youngsters will be joining him for a 25km walking challenge taking place around Central London to raise funds for the cause.

All funds donated will go to Assist Resettlement and Renaissance — which assists victims of war — and the International Medical Health Organization, who are teaming up with the family to build the paediatric ward.

Mark is currently working with the charity to identify a suitable hospital to team up with for the project.

The initiative is intended to build on Sonya’s humanitarian work which had an extremely positive impact throughout her short life.

She volunteered everywhere from Romanian orphanages to Barrettstown as part of an initiative rolling out summer camps for seriously ill children.

The 48-year-old, who worked in the Mercy University Hospital, also worked tirelessly as an advocate to improve supports and services for metastatic breast cancer patients.

Mark said the family are looking forward to building on Sonya’s legacy. He spoke of the Cork woman’s final years.

“She kept evolving and surprising us all in new wonderful ways — not because we didn’t think she was capable, but because her natural caring outlook just kept finding new stages and places to go,” he said.

“She was a wonderful mum and wanted to make sure her children were as happy and set up as they possibly could be if her own journey didn’t go as we wanted.

“They have a huge hole to fill now, and we thought this would be a lovely thing for them to get involved in.

“You often have this restless energy where you don’t know what to do after somebody’s gone like that.

“The idea was to achieve something positive with that energy that had Sonya’s essence at the core.”

He talked about their decision to build a children’s ward.

“Sonya loved children, so a 24/7 hospital wing dedicated to caring for them was the right space for us to give a long-term commitment to,” he said.

“When Sonya was in the Mercy, she had a wonderful way with children. 

"She was really skilled at soothing them because she was calm and endlessly caring.

“Sonya had a lovely way with the parents, too. Her motivation was to take some of their pain and stress by doing things for their child.

“Everything about her profession was an extension of her as a person. She knew she had a role to play in helping both parents and children”.

The Cork native described how his sister was helping others, right up to her final days.

“When she could no longer work because of her cancer, she channelled all of her talents and caring nature into patient advocacy,” he said. “She was looking to see if we could do more as an Irish society in an emotional sense.

“Obviously, we deal with the pathologies of the cancer in a good and practised way, but there was a shortfall, in her view, in what might happen to the spouses and children and the family dynamic in terms of emotional support.

“She did a lot of work in this area and ended up having a high profile nationally as a result.”

Mark said the family will continue visiting the Sonya Lynch Paediatric Ward for years after it is built.

“We are really happy to be building something that is testament to Sonya by helping sick children on their journey for decades to come.

“Our hope is to go to the opening and visit and volunteer at the facility in the years ahead.

“This will be a physical testament to all that Sonya stood for. It will also be something we can engage with going forward”.

He lauded Sonya’s children Isaac, Isabel, and Alex for their strength and caring natures in the face of adversity.

“At a very young age, they are already exuding the values that we celebrate,” he said.

“The positive impact for the beneficiaries of this project will exist for years to come. It will also help us as a family to remember Sonya in the way we want to remember her.”

To donate to the Go Fund Me campaign to build a hospital ward in Sonya’s honour visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/sonya-lynch