Town hung out the flags for new baby
By Euan Duguid
AFTER five miscarriages over 13 years, Tony and Isobel Kelly from Grangemouth were ecstatic when their
first son was born in 1983.
 Tragically, their joy was short-lived.
Their baby boy, Allan Joseph, had CHARGE syndrome, a chromosome abnormality that affected his whole body, from a heart defect to ear problems.
He died, aged three weeks, in intensive care.
The effect on the couple was devastating,
but through their
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 Tony on his gravity walker as Allana, Martin and wife Isobel look on.
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strength and longing to have a family they have since brought up two beautiful, healthy children, Allana (18) and Martin (16) — and have also selflessly raised
£1185 for our hospice appeal.
Isobel explained, “When Allan was born we knew something was seriously wrong and that his chances
of survival were low.
“However, we also knew that his quality of life would have been very poor if he had lived longer — and we knew that we would have needed to regularly visit somewhere like Rachel House.
Hope
“It was very hard when he passed away because we had been filled with hope after my miscarriages.
“We were very low, but something kept us going — it’s something you can only understand if you’ve been there.”
After attending genetic counselling at Yorkhill Hospital, Glasgow, Isobel fell pregnant again, only three months after Allan’s death.
She said, “It was a very tense pregnancy with the fear of history repeating itself.
“Amazingly, Allana was born the day before the first anniversary of Allan’s death and we were over the moon.
“People in the town were so happy that they had a huge street party
for us with flags hanging from the local pub — in the first week people never stopped knocking at the door with gifts.”
Despite their loss, Tony and Isobel believe their experience has given them a different outlook on life, something that drove them to help our appeal.
Tony explained, “We are more determined to get on with things
now because there’s so much that can go wrong in the world and what we experienced has made us so grateful for what we have, especially two healthy children.
Suffering
“We have also gained a lot of understanding of suffering and we felt compelled to help with The Sunday Post Hospice Appeal.”
Tony recently completed a sponsored walk on a gravity walker — a non-impact exercise machine — in his local pub, the Pitleoch Arms, on the 19th anniversary of Allan’s death.
Isobel also organised a disco in the pub to raise funds.
She said, “The number of people who showed their support in sponsoring Tony’s walk and coming along to the disco speaks volumes.
“Local businesses, from McFadden Timber, who donated
£100, to Sunlight Services who helped with the buffet, and Rangers squad
goalkeeper Richard White, who presented a signed ball for the raffle, were all magnificent.
Tony said, “We feel The Sunday Post is focusing on a very important issue — by generating awareness about the need for a new hospice.
“We are proud to have helped out.
“We can only imagine what the parents and children of Rachel House are going through.
“We only went through it for three weeks, but some of them have been experiencing that sort of thing
for years.” |
You can e-mail us at:
hospice@sundaypost.com
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