NI Hospice awarded freedom of borough

Edel's son Theo attends the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice

"It is the only place where you can walk away and actually take a breath."

Edel Casey's son Theo has a life-limiting condition and attends the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice.

The hospice has been awarded the Freedom of the Borough by Antrim and Newtownabbey Council in "recognition and appreciation of the exceptional and outstanding specialist palliative care service" it provides.

The council also recognised the support the hospice provides to the families of people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, both in the borough and in Northern Ireland.

For Ms Casey, the support she and her family receive from the staff and volunteers at the hospice in Newtownabbey is "vital".

Four-year-old Theo has a genetic disorder and epilepsy, which has been deteriorating.

"When you have a child with a life-limiting condition or additional needs, your life becomes a little bit limited," Ms Casey said.

"In January, he was receiving end-of-life care but he pulled through and we just keep going."

'It's a God send'

After such a huge event, she said the hospice made it possible for them to have a little bit of normality.

"There is nowhere else where we can, for a few nights every quarter, send our children and know they are well looked after."

"It's not just the respite," she added, "it's the family support. And if you took that away I don't know where we would be".

The hospice has been 'a God send' for Stuart McKinney, his son James and their family

Stuart McKinney's son James, who began needing specialist care following a complication during his birth, has been attending the hospice for four years.

Mr McKinney described the hospice as a "haven" for his son.

"It is a home from home," he said. "There are people here who can care for James, who know what to do when he is unwell. There is no panic."

"To have other people here who can look after James as well as his parents is a God send."

Northern Ireland Hospice chief executive Heather Weir said she was "delighted" for the organisation's work to be recognised.

Heather Weir, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Hospice, said the work staff and volunteers at the hospice do is 'so precious'

"What we do is a very human-to-human experience," she said.

"Being able to hug or to touch and be alongside people in those hours and minutes before life ends is so precious."

Ms Weir said for the hospice's work to be recognised in such a way by the council was amazing.

"It feels like a real honest acknowledgement of the value of the work that we do," she added.