A Moray mum who had to travel more than three hours to a hospice with her toddler son during his final days is campaigning for a new palliative care centre in the north-east.
Lynne Geddes said her son Harry remained a “character” who was “always smiling” despite suffering through countless surgeries during his short life.
The youngster was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition when he was born in 2012, and needed several operations to live through his first day.
But the tot soldiered on past his third birthday, and it was only late last year that his condition deteriorated and his parents were forced to find suitable care for his last days.
Mrs Geddes was disappointed to learn this would mean travelling more than 150 miles from her home in Buckie to Kinross.
And the 35-year-old has now thrown her weight behind a charity campaign to raise enough money to create a hospice in the region for youngsters like Harry.
She said: “This is something that needs to happen, it would make a huge difference for a lot of families.”
Harry was born with Vactrel association, a devastating condition which causes its victims to suffer spine defects, difficulties digesting food, heart problems, limb abnormalities and kidney issues.
The family were told by doctors that only around one in every 75,000 babies are born with the syndrome.
But his mum said that despite the painful catalogue of symptoms, the tot retained a bright outlook.
Mrs Geddes said: “In his life he had more surgeries than I can count, he basically spent most of his three-and-a-half years in the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
“But he was always smiling and never complained once, he was always in a lot of pain right from birth but he was such a character.
“In every picture I’ve got of him he’s smiling, right to the end.”
As Harry’s condition deteriorated last summer, his family had to find a children’s hospice to ensure his remaining days were as comfortable as possible.
They realised that the closest suitable facility was Rachel House in Kinross.
Mrs Geddes relived the tender scenes that played out among the family as Harry finally succumbed to his condition.
She said: “We took Harry to Kinross, and spent as much time together there as a family as we could.
“He passed away on Sunday, September 6, and that morning we took him outside to lie on the grass and see the birds.
“He fell asleep there, and his dad lifted him through to his bed.
“We all cuddled in with him; me, his brother Sam, his sister Kaidey, his dad, and his nana and his pop, and he passed away with all of us there.”
In the months since Harry died, the Geddes family has been helped through their grief by Charlie House, an Aberdeen-based charity that supports children going through end of life care.
The organisation is raising funds to create its own north-east based hospice for youngsters like Harry.
Mrs Geddes said: “To have a facility like Rachel House in the north-east of Scotland is something that needs to happen.
“I wouldn’t change anything about Harry’s end of life care, but ideally I would have wanted it to be closer to home.
“I’d love to see Charlie House get more support and recognition, and having a facility run by them in the north-east would make a huge difference for a lot of families.”
To find out more about the children’s charity, or to make donations, readers can visit www.charliehouse.org.uk