Give Seriously ill Children their Childhood Back

Meet Jonathan 

“Cancer, the doctors said. It’s cancer. But the words were hard to register. My mind raced back to the beginning”.

Jonathan was barely six years old when he found a lump on his collarbone. It was in January 2019. Jonathan’s first tests were clear. No infection. No virus. But over Christmas he just hadn’t looked right to his Mum and Dad.

So that January, when Jonathan struggled to get out of bed, the family headed straight for Temple Street Hospital. Jonathan’s diagnosis came only days after he was admitted. Large-cell anaplastic lymphoma. A kind of blood cancer.

Jonathan had to receive six different types of chemotherapy, over six months, to battle his cancer. Chemotherapy attacks cancer cells and healthy ones, his immune system weakened.

Passing Each Other in the Hallway

Even when you have a child with cancer, life marches forward. You’ve people at home, outside the hospital. Uniforms have to be clean. Lunches need to be made. Inside you’re shattered. But you put life on repeat.

Jonathan’s Mum and Dad were passing each other in the hallway, like the song. His Mum would stay at the hospital for Jonathan’s chemotherapy the first night and then his Dad. They did the whole thing in reverse the day after that. On and on it went.

The Visit They will Always Remember – Their First Visit to Barretstown

When they turned onto that forested drive into Barretstown, it felt like escaping into a secret world. The wildlife, the way it opens into fields.

They watched the anxious, uncertain faces of their children break into beautiful smiles, Smilies they hadn’t seen for so long.

Barretstown is built to bring children and families back together. They talked about their journey. They laughed. The kids played with the other children there. What a treasure. They still keep in touch with those families today.

This served as a reminder that there could be better days ahead. This is the gift you have given. A gift that is so precious. To a child who is battling cancer, your kind gift to Barretstown today is a ticket back to joy, laughter, and life.

“You’re in our hearts. Now and always. Barretstown is here for us, because of you” - The Lennons – Garry, Ciara, Rebekah, Jonathan, and Cara