Clonakilty goes up the hill for Jack and Jill

In December, Jack & Jill Liaison Nurse Eilín Ni Mhurchú was delighted to receive a cheque for almost €14,000 thanks to the hundreds of supporters who took to the streets of Clonakilty on Sunday, September 29 to raise funds for Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation.

The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation aims to empower families of seriously ill children to care for their loved ones in their own home; while also giving parents and carers the gift of time, which is so precious when caring for a seriously ill child, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Currently the service helps 38 families throughout Cork and one such family is the Jennings family.

Anita Jennings Mum to Olivia, age four-and-a-half, (pictured) has been influential in the success of the #UpTheHill2019 event in Clonakilty. Her daughter Olivia has a rare condition called Early infantile epileptic encephalopathy-37.

Olivia is non-verbal, non-mobile, has epilepsy (seizures) and cannot sit on her own. She is fully dependent on others 24/7.

Talking about how Olivia’s condition impacts on the family, Anita said “We can still get up and go but it takes a lot more planning, it all depends on how Olivia is that day. There are no more spontaneous holidays, no more big trips away but we had a lot of them when we could. There was a time recently when Olivia was fed every four hours naso-gastrically, which meant no continuous sleep for David and myself, which was really really hard.”

Speaking about Jack & Jill’s services, “It isn’t everyone that can come in and support us when we need a bit of time out. There’s a lot of technical bits with gastric feeding which have to be adhered to. So that’s why it’s so important to have Jack & Jill hours to help us go to family occasions  like weddings and funerals, the local nurses allow us to get a bit of headspace and spend time together as a couple knowing that she is safe and in the hands of a trained nurse who knows her just as well as we do.”

She continued. “I was so delighted to see so many neighbours, family and friends take part in the #UpTheHill2019 event in Clonakilty. Ray Kelleher of Trigon Hotels was a huge instigator in making this walk happen, so I would like to thank Ray and all the volunteers and participants for their support.”

WCP Staff

WCP Staff Writer

Next Post

Meditation for men, mum’s and other mental health initiatives

Tue Jan 21 , 2020
Gaelscoil Dhoctúir Uí Shúilleabháin, St Patrick’s Boys’ National School, Skibbereen Community School and 49 North St. have teamed up with Anne Crossey to introduce three new mental health initiatives to the community.  The first is to encourage men to begin meditation. A five-week pilot programme called ‘Meditation for Men’ will […]

Categories