By Dionne Meehan
FOR the last 12 years, the Hughes family from Lifford have been donating toys every Christmas to Crumlin Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House in memory of their baby son Ollie.
And this year, they are anticipating their biggest donation yet.
Born in 2010 to Michelle and Conor Hughes, it was immediately discovered that Ollie had a heart condition resulting in him being airlifted to Crumlin Children’s Hospital when he was just one day old.
Having his first heart surgery at only five days old, throughout Ollie’s short life, much of the family’s time was spent attending hospital appointments in Dublin.
This was a challenging time for the family as their seven-year-old daughter Cora was only able to stay with them at the weekends.
Finding comfort in the smallest gestures at such a worrying time, Michelle recalled their stay at the Ronald McDonald House which amounted to 100 nights in total.
“The Ronald McDonald House has a cupboard called the ‘Magic Cupboard’, which we have benefitted from,” Michelle said.
“Say you got some bad news and you needed to sit down, have a cup of tea and a talk, the staff would take the siblings to this cupboard, get them a toy and that would keep them distracted.
“It would have given us a minute to gather our thoughts, figure out what’s going on and have a cup of tea together.”
On April 12, 2012, baby Ollie sadly passed away.
Wanting to give back for the care they received during their time in Dublin, the family decided to donate the toys Ollie received the Christmas beforehand to Crumlin Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House.
From that day on the family made it a tradition, as a way of remembering their beloved son at Christmas time and in the hope of brightening up another child’s day.
“They were always so kind to him,” Michelle recalled.
“We have been handed stuff before and you were like, oh, somebody’s actually went out of their way and are thinking on people that are spending Christmas in hospital.
“I spend money on my kids for Christmas and I always want to still spend money on Ollie as well.
“So it’s my way of still doing something for him.
“Even though he’s not here, I’m still doing it for him as I don’t want to leave him out.”
The Hughes family are currently appealing for toy donations for all ages, ranging from babies right up to teenagers.
For hygiene purposes, all toys must be new and unopened.
If you are interested in making a donation, contact Michelle Hughes directly on Facebook where she will advise you further.