Mayo couple who lost their baby boy fundraise for hospital

A Mayo couple who lost their infant son have launched a fundraiser to purchase a vital piece of equipment for Mayo University Hospital.

James and Mary Grealis suffered the heartbreaking loss of their little boy Jamie when he died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in June last year. Jamie was just two months old.

Jamie was born with Down Syndrome and spent the first two weeks of his life in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Mayo University Hospital (MUH). On June 29, 2023, Jamie became unwell and was rushed by ambulance to Crumlin Children's Hospital where he died the next day.

James and Mary are forever grateful for the 24-hour care Jamie received at MUH. The big-hearted couple have launched a fundraising campaign to purchase an echocardiographic machine for the SPBU.

"On meeting with doctors, nurses and medical staff in Mayo University Hospital, we have identified the urgent requirement of an echocardiographic machine for SCBU," said James. "By having this machine in Castlebar, it will save sending any sick baby in an ambulance to Galway for an echocardiographic."

The machine costs €100,000 and the campaign has already raised more than €30,000 in a few short weeks.

“We just want to do something for the hospital because they were so good to us. We got unbelievable care up there,” said James, who is originally from Achill.

“An echo machine is a vital piece of equipment that would be so valuable to the hospital,” he added.

If the fundraiser reaches its goal, the new machine will bear Jamie’s name and will be known as Jamie’s Echo.

“It will be there to help everyone whether it’s your grandparent who needs an echo, a child, or a mother. It will be there and you won’t have to be transferred to Galway,” said James.

James, who also worked as a retained firefighter, understands the pressures the emergency services face.

“I know what it’s like to be standing out on the road waiting for an ambulance. We only have so many ambulances in the county.” 

James and Mary have been blown away by the support their initiative has received.

“At the beginning, we thought €100,000 is such a huge number and how will we ever get there but within a week we had €9,000 raised,” said James. 

A recent truck run in Castlebar was a huge success.

James and Mary welcomed a baby girl, Cara, into the world in May.

“She is very special to us. An absolute treasure. Her brother will never be forgotten and she will always know about him,” said James.

A GoFundMe online page called 'Jamie's Echo' has been set up for donations.