A local community in Co Tyrone has rallied around the family of a brave young baby boy who lost his battle against a heart condition earlier this year.
Almost £30,000 has been raised in various events run in memory of baby Harrison McKelvey from Plumbridge, who passed away aged seven months in March.
He had only been given days to live after being born with a severe congenital heart defect, but went on to live seven action packed months where his family made memories to last a lifetime.
Harrison’s parents, Gareth and Zoe, were supported by various charities and teams during his short life, including the Children’s Heartbeat Trust, Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and the Children’s Community Nurses based in Omagh Hospital.
“Harrison had the biggest head of red hair, his little hands never stopped and his feisty personality shone through despite all the challenges he was facing,” his mum Zoe said.
“Harrison touched the hearts of many and taught those around him that life is for living.
“We were told he mightn’t survive birth, and then that he may not live past two weeks. But he just decided no, that he was going to go on ahead.
“We lived every day like it was our last. We had him at the zoo, had him at the beach. We brought him to the Christmas markets and we stayed at the Fitzwilliam hotel last year.
“The time that we had with him was a blessing and I wouldn’t give an hour of it back. Those memories are getting us through the days now.”
Among the organisations which have held fundraising events for the McKelvey family are mum Zoe’s employer Cavanagh Kelly, the Glenpark Estate in Omagh, the Newtownstewart Young Farmers Club.
On 5 May 2024, Harrison’s granny, three aunties and uncle took on the Belfast Marathon Relay and raised £22,152.
In total just under £30,000 has been raised for all the charities in memory of Harrison over the past year.
Zoe praised the local community who rallied around Harrison and his family.
“We are getting a lot of praise but we organised nothing ourselves,” she said.
“It really was a case of community and family pulling together. We are just overwhelmed, times are tough at the moment and people don’t have a lot of money to be throwing around, but they did for us and we are very grateful.”
