Thursday 13th June ’13 we were flying to Bristol Children’s Hospital for Leah’s first outpatient appointment the following day.
Simon, as her bone marrow donor was part of this.
Miriam was coming too as I felt that psychologically it was important to include Miriam in everything wherever possible.
I had phoned the hospital and enquired and they had said that their Play Therapist would keep an eye on Miriam in the play area while we were speaking to the consultant.
Rachel wasn’t accompanying us to Bristol but thankfully she insisted on coming to the airport with us so that we could have a family picnic at one of our favourite places to go as a family – the Antrim Forum.
I remember at the time being a little ungracious about all of this – when translated this means “very grumpy”!
Packing for the trip, getting six people out of the house AND organising a picnic while also ensuring we were on time for our flights felt like an awful lot of effort at the time.
I also remember though that once we got to the Antrim Forum we enjoyed being there, as we always have done over the years.
We never for one minute imagined that this was to be our last ever picnic as a family of six.
Thank God for modern technology such as mobile phones that enable such moments to be captured.
They are for ever preserved in our hearts, of course.
My Journey: 