There was extreme sadness in a rural Laois community following the tragic death of a young girl in July 2022.
Hannah Kealy from Cremorgan, Timahoe, passed away at the tender age of just two years old in Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin following an accident.
Hannah’s family made the brave decision to allow for organ donation, which helped to save the lives of four people.
Hannah’s mother, Marie showed great courage recently, giving an incredible speech about her daughter at an organ donation event in Dublin.
“After a couple of days in Temple Street Hospital, we were told Hannah was brain stem dead, and there was no hope for her recovery,” Ms Kealy said.
“When we realised we weren’t getting the miracle we so desperately hoped for that week, we made the profound decision to donate our little girl’s organs.
“For us, it meant if even just one family weren’t put into the situation we were in, then that was enough.
“Our little Hannah went on to save four families.
“Hannah’s little heart was donated to a little boy; a part of her liver to a premature baby; her small bowl and hemi colon to another small boy; and her kidneys to a young mammy.
“She became the miracle that those four families had hoped for, for so long, and that brings us some peace, to think that there are parts of our little girl working away in other people is a surreal feeling at times.
“While I can’t begin to imagine the anguish for parents of having a critically ill child waiting for an organ transplant in order to survive, I am all too familiar with the pain of losing a child.
“It’s this shared experience that drove myself and Denis to choose organ donation for Hannah.
“Knowing that Hannah’s donation could potentially save multiple lives, including children, brought us solace amid our grief.
“Her memory lives on in the four families she has saved and the countless others she has touched with the precious gift of organ donation.”
The event can be seen here, with Ms Kealy speaking at approximately 44 minutes into the video.
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