Mairead has been speaking to listeners who have shared their Back in 10 stories, and today she was joined by Tara whose story will stay with us all.
Tara's email started:
“The story of my decade is definitely one dominated by loss, and while my story is very sad I still live in hope that the dawn of a new decade will bring me on to happier roads as I keep putting one foot in front of the other”
At the beginning of the decade, the youngest of Tara's 3 children was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder and their lives changed forever.
Little Erin needed a lot of care as her condition progressively deteriorated. Despite this, Erin still had a very joyful disposition and shared a particularly special bond with Tara's dad.
In 2014, things took a turn and Tara's dad became very ill due to a heart defect. At the same time, Erin was getting sicker and Tara was splitting her time between the two hospitals where her father and daughter were staying.
Tara's father underwent surgery for his heart condition, but sadly never regained consciousness and passed away 2 weeks later.
Erin's condition got progressively worse, and she very sadly passed away at the age of 6 and a half - 5 months after Tara lost her father.
Speaking of this devastating time, Tara wrote:
“The pain of those final months was torture. Grieving for my father while knowing my child was dying, it’s a turmoil I’ll never forget. I will be forever grateful to have had the honour of being Erin’s mother. She changed me, my outlook, my beliefs and values. All for the better. It’s a humbling experience to care for a child as sick as Erin, she suffered so much. But not one day passed without her smiling and it was that that gave us strength every day”
Five years on, Tara and her family are all stronger but they still carry their grief.
Her message to anyone who may be going through something like this is that life moves on but hearts don't, and you have to allow yourself to grieve.
You can hear the conversation in full by pressing the play button on screen.
