Ireland’s only children’s hospice LauraLynn is named for the two daughters of its founder, Jane McKenna. Laura (4) died of a heart defect. Lynn (15) developed leukaemia while Laura was in hospital and died less than two years later.
“Lynn herself . . . wanted to die peacefully at home,” says Jane. “She got her wish, and we got ours.”
Jane realised that many other ill children were not so lucky, dying instead in a hospital ward.
“I think we’d all say, whether it’s children or adults or whatever, and I know it’s not always possible to avoid it, and they try to make the best of it . . . but it can be horrific. It’s not a place to die.”
On this week’s Roísín Meets podcast, Jane talks about the memory of her late daughters, dealing with grief, and how she set up LauraLynn to provide Ireland’s only dedicated palliative care service for children.
With LauraLynn receiving no official funding, Jane feels hospice care is not given the priority it deserves.
“I wish that we didn’t need it at all, but we do. It’s very necessary and it does make a difference in people’s lives”.
Jane's book Laura and Lynn's Story: Living in the Shadow of their Smiles is available now, with all proceeds going to the hospice.
