Cork family to lead LauraLynn Christmas campaign

MEMBERS of a Cork family who lost their beloved 10-year-old boy two years ago are heading a Christmas appeal for Ireland’s only children’s hospice.

Jamie Murray passed away in 2021, now his parents, Helena and Mark, and his brothers Mark and Lucas, are leading this year’s Christmas appeal for children’s hospice LauraLynn.

LauraLynn offers care and supports to children with life-limiting conditions, as well as their families.

Among the supports offered by LauraLynn are counselling, music and play therapy, as well as targeted therapeutic care to the child, parents, and siblings.

Since opening in 2011 LauraLynn has provided care and supports to 680 children with life-limiting conditions and their families across Ireland.

“When we went to stay at LauraLynn for the first time Jamie’s bedroom was a replica of his room at home, it had the same toys he loved,” Helena and Mark Murray said.

“His routine, everything, was kept the same, to make him feel at home. LauraLynn even made sure his room had his favourite scent.”

Jamie suffered from ongoing pneumonia, and the scent of eucalyptus became his favourite smell as it gave his chest some relief.

“And there at LauraLynn, they had put an aroma machine in his room, diffusing the soothing fragrance of eucalyptus,” Jamie’s parents said. “The attention to detail brought tears to our eyes. There was just so much love in that room.”

LauraLynn is now supporting more children and their families than ever before, and in 2022, it provided 1,534 nights of specialist in-hospice care.

In 2022, as part of LauraLynn’s ambitious growth strategy, Cork, Kerry, and Limerick were identified as a region of need outside of the greater Leinster region, and so were chosen as the hospice’s first community-based locations outside of Dublin.

The hospice recently announced the further expansion of its specialised services with a new community team which will be based in Ballinasloe, offering specialised in-home hospice and palliative care supports to children and their families in the midlands, west, and northwest of the country.

Thanking Helena and Mark Murray for their support of this year’s appeal, LauraLynn CEO Kerry McLaverty said Christmas is a very special time at the children’s hospice.

“This year has been one of growth for LauraLynn with the expansion of our community services we are now supporting more children and families than ever before,” Ms McLaverty said.

“We are asking our supporters to help LauraLynn families like Jamie’s continue to receive the care and support they need by donating at lauralynn.ie.”