Jenni (bereaved mother of George)

Life began with our gorgeous George on 2 February 2016. Our George was born with a little extra, trisomy 21 (down syndrome) and a complete AVSD heart condition.

We knew our life would face some interesting challenges, what we got was a courageous fighter who gave us pure joy. George had this beautiful way of drawing you in with his gorgeous smile and filling your heart with a love like no other.

He just loved music and would dance along to anything with a beat. His favourite love was the music from The Greatest Showman. Anytime the songs played George would stop whatever he was doing and come running to find its source. He would beam from ear to ear, dance, clap along, stomp his feet, sing and just immerse himself in the song. George also had a way of reminding us to remember the little things and stop and smell the flowers, and I mean literally – George would stop by our flowering hedge each time we walked past and breathe in the beautiful aroma.

We got to share three and a half fun, loving, joyful, musical, giggly, cuddly, happy years with our George. Then one day gastro came and a trip to the hospital turned into a battle with sepsis. We transferred from our local hospital, The Prince Charles Hospital, to the Queensland Children’s Hospital with a gravely ill little boy who had the biggest battle his body would ever endure. After a stroke, losing blood flow to the lower left leg, then no blood to the right side of his brain, then pupils fixed and dilated. Our gorgeous George could no longer fight sepsis and passed away just four days after being admitted.

A huge hole was left in my heart, an emptiness like no other. My beautiful darling George was gone from our lives forever. I felt lost and alone and I didn’t know how to live on without him in our lives anymore. How is it possible that our gorgeous George would no longer be with us anymore? George had such an impact not only on our lives but also to those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Our experiences in hospital with our George meant that we could see a need and a way that we could help others. We could also do this by celebrating the joy that was George’s life and his way of touching others’ hearts. So, in July 2020, I started a parents box to honour George’s life in our local hospital children’s ward. The idea behind the box is related to the times we have presented to emergency and found ourselves being admitted to hospital. As parents we prepare all that our children need and sometimes forget to bring the things that can help our stay. We are also so focused on our unwell child we may not realise how time has passed and that we have forgotten to eat. The parents box in the children’s ward has snacks and non-perishable food items, coffee sticks, herbal teas, toiletry needs, combs, feminine hygiene products and many other items to help families during their stay. We don’t all have family or friends who can bring things we might need to us, or the financial ability to afford buying food every day. Our hope is that by having this, parents can concentrate on caring for their child and know that we understand and hope to alleviate some of the stress a hospital stay can bring. We are here for you as families who understand, and a community that cares. That is why we called it George’s box because George had a unique way of wrapping his arms around you and bringing you in for a warm hug.

We are also in the process of bringing George’s box to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for families to enjoy during their most difficult time with their child. We know from our time in PICU how precious every minute with your child is and hope this will help make that time a little easier. Being able to easily access non-perishable food, snacks, little treats, coffee sticks, herbal teas and something to sustain you during your time there. If you would like to help donate items, you can do so by emailing me.

Our George offered so much love and joy to so many, and we were so very lucky to have had the time with him that we did. We will continue to share the amazing joy and love he had with those around us.