The Story of Eoin Óg - Our Angel Son

My name is Deirdre Grant and I gave birth to a beautiful son on Saturday 2nd October 2010.  My husband Raymond and I, proudly named him "Eoin Óg Grant".

Little Eoin Óg, has three big sisters, Caitlin (age 8) and twins Alana and Síenna (age 6).  His new sisters were in awe of their beautiful brother that arrived home to Mullaghbawn, Co Armagh.

His first week in his new home was very relaxed and he slept and fed like any other newborn baby.  On day 7, I took Eoin Óg down to my bed and dressed him in a little blue superboy outfit.  I could not get enough of the colour blue, after being surrounded by pink for 8 years.  Little did I know that this would be his last picture.

I took loads of photographs of him in his super cool outfit and couldn't wait to show off my new son to all my Facebook friends and family.  He was just so healthy and perfect!  I now loved using the phrase "C'mere me wee son".

In his second week, he found it very hard to get his wind up, so the usual new born medication was prescribed to him.  This was a great excuse for me to carry him around and cuddle him as much as I could. My husband kept saying to me "You have him spoiled rotten and he just wants to be carried all the time now".

By the third week, it was suggested by doctors that reflux was the problem, so we changed the milk several times to try and relieve the trapped wind and stomach pains.  Eoin Óg was seen by various members of the medical profession, who could not find anything wrong with him.

By week four, he was still very unsettled and his feeding and sleeping patterns were very erratic.  My neighbour suggested that I try Jin Shin Jyutsu which is a type of Japanese healing that brings balance to the body's energies and promotes optimal health.  I brought him to the healer who worked on him twice, he did get great relief after both sessions.  Another friend then suggested trying a faith healer (Seventh Son of a Seventh Son), as she found him very successful in healing her own son's medical condition.  We travelled to the faith healer four nights in a row and on the last day little Eoin Óg finally seemed to be in a normal comfort zone.

On Saturday 6th November 2010, Eoin Óg slept and fed every four hours.  We had the Christening planned for the following Friday night, so I spent the next day getting his Christening gown ready, organising what food would be needed and the finer details for the Baptismal mass.

On Sunday morning at 7am, I got up to get Eoin Óg his bottle which he eagerly drank. We went back to sleep to find Eoin Óg dead at 10am.  Shock..horror....emotional rollercoaster.....nightmare begins!

It is now six months on and we are finally coping with normal day to day life.  Eoin Óg died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

My aim is to increase awareness of SIDS and to raise much needed funds for the SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Deaths) Charity.

My first fundraising activity is to complete the Dublin Mini Marathon on Monday 6th June 2011.  My sister and two friends are accompanying me in the run and are also raising funds for the SANDS charity.

You can donate through this website and all funds will be sent directly to the SANDS Charity or to those who have agreed to become a member of the fundraising team.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.