Moville couple Brian and Sharon Thompson have begun fundraising for the Victoria Thompson Scholarship to highlight the need for children’s palliative care services in Ireland.
The fund was set up in memory of their daughter, Victoria Thompson, who passed away in 2012 – nine months after her birth. Baby Victoria was diagnosed with a rare, painful and terminal condition at five months of age and was cared for by her parents and LauraLynnChildren’s Hospice in her final months.
Victoria’s family and community had to fight to find palliative care for her at the time. Training in children’s palliative care is a new speciality, so Sharon and Brian Thompson are aiming to support nurses on this course of study.
Ireland’s first dedicated Masters or Post-graduate programme for Children’s Palliative / Complex Care was set up at NUI Galway in 2016. Sharon and Brian had enough funds to provide €1,000 scholarships for two nurses in 2016.
“It’s kind of magical that one of them this year is a Donegal nurse,” Sharon said.
“I always say there is a magic in the synchronicity of things after Victoria died,” she told Donegal Woman. “Whenever she passed away the whole community rallied around and did fundraising. Different things that have happened along the way have been very special. I always said that ‘If Victoria wants it to happen, it will happen’. One little thing always leads to another.”
Brian and Sharon are fundraising to support more nurses this coming year. There is a need for outreach nurses to provide palliative care in all Irish counties. There are approx 3,840 children living with complex life-limiting illnesses. Unfortunately in 2017, there’s a shortage of specialised nurses to care for these children and their families.
Victoria’s parents, Sharon and Brian Thompson said “Most parents of terminally ill children find it difficult to get specialised nurses to care for their complexly-ill child at home. The Victoria Memorial Fund will fund education, research and advocacy projects which advance children’s palliative care. Presently, NUIG kindly facilitated our scholarships of excellence to two nurses on their MSc course. www.nuigalway.ie/nursing-
“Victoria died at exactly nine months old but she showed us the gaps in care for children like her. In her memory, we aim to highlight the care needs of complexly ill children and find ways to advance the care options for terminally ill children. We must acknowledge children need palliative care and provide it nationally.”
The Thompsons are currently working to register The Victoria Thompson Scholarship as an official charity. They hope to provide funds for more nursing students in the year to come and have set a target of €2,000 for 2017.
“I will not be content until other families can have the basic care they need, that they can come home and feel they have the links to medical staff and know that their child won’t die in pain at home,” Sharon told Donegal Woman.
Further information can be found at thevictoriathompsonscholarship.com
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